It's You, It'll Always Be You
by OnTheRox
Summary: Callie was supposed to choose Arizona & live happily ever after. But out of fear of losing her family, she chose her promises & commitments over love. But something brings Callie back to Seattle, can they reconnect their love or is it too little too late?
1. Chapter 1

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 1

She peered into the mirror taking in her reflection. Her golden blonde hair still held her trademark curly ringlets, but the rest of her only seemed like a ghost of her former self. No more were her deep adorable dimples when she smiled and no more where the sparkles in her sapphire blue eyes. She reached up and held the heart-shaped pendant dangling from around her neck. She had never taken it off since the one who had given her the necklace placed it around her neck the moment it was given to her. She held the heart tightly in her hand; the pain of the pendant digging into her hand being no match for the pain she still felt in her heart.

She glanced over the sleeping figure behind her and twinge of guilt panged her heart. _How is it that this wonderful person behind me hasn't been able to erase this heartbreaking pain? _ She thought.

"Arizona…come back to bed…"

Arizona flashed an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, babe. I'll be right here." With one last look at herself in the mirror, she let out an exasperated sigh and crawled back to bed. The figure immediately snuggled into Arizona at her return as she wrapped her arms around them as they fell back into a deep slumber.

Arizona's thoughts prevented her from falling asleep as they flooded her mind. She shifted to look over at the sleeping figure beside her. The woman wrapped in her arms was beautiful, there was no denying that. But the chestnut brown-haired, emerald green-eyed beauty was no comparison to the raven-haired, chocolate brown-eyed Latina who still held her heart.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she muttered to herself. _It's been two and a half years, Arizona. Get over it already! You're friends, and you'll have to accept that it can't ever be more than that. _She forced herself to silence her thoughts and drift off to sleep, but before she delved into unconsciousness, one last thought crossed her mind, _Calliope, _she whispered out before finally succumbing to sleep.

To Arizona Robbins, Calliope Iphigenia Torres will forever be the one who got away. They had been friends for years before the devastating event that broke their relationship and whisked Calliope off to California.

Arizona knew she was in love with Calliope the moment they locked eyes. It was an end of the year party after Callie's (Calliope's chosen name) first year and Arizona's third. Being a third year student, Arizona had made some acquaintances, but she made sure not to get too attached to anyone and stay focused on her studies to be at the top of her class. She was only out at the party because one of the previously mentioned acquaintances, Teddy Altman, had practically dragged her out there stating that she had to "live a little". So here she was standing amongst a crowd of fellow aspiring doctors actually having a decent time.

She was scanning the room casually sipping at her drink when her eyes rested upon a raven-haired woman talking to another woman with bright red hair smiling at something apparently amusing the red head said. Her smile literally took Arizona's breath away and she could swear her heart skipped a beat. Out of nowhere, Teddy appeared by her side and followed her gaze over to the beautiful Latina. "Ahh… Nice choice, Arizona. That's Callie Torres. She's a, now, second year student from Miami who's interested in orthopedics."

Arizona stood there with her mouth agape in surprise at Teddy's statement. "I-I…was _not_ looking at her, Teddy. I was just, you know, looking around and stuff."

"Right… Which is why you've been staring in the same direction for minutes now with that dreamy look in your eyes and ignoring what's going on around you. Nah…you weren't looking at her completely mesmerized at all."

"You're such a jerk, you know that, Teddy?"

Teddy threw her head back in laughter. "You love me, Arizona. Now go over there and talk to her. The staring from across the room thing is cute and all, but you're going to look like a creepy stalker pretty soon if you don't go talk to her soon." Arizona felt herself being pushed in Callie's direction and before she could register what was happening, she was standing face-to-face with the woman who had caught her eye. Arizona stood there, locking eyes with Callie, for a while with her famous dimpled smile spread across her face. Her mouth felt dry with nervousness and she couldn't figure out what to say. Before an awkward silence could settle, Teddy cleared her throat to break the two women out of their state. "Hey Callie, Addison. This is my friend, Arizona Robbins. Arizona, Callie Torres and Addison Montgomery."

Arizona shook hands with Addison and turned to shake hands with Callie. The moment their hands touched, Arizona felt a jolt of electricity flow up her arms and her heart immediately started beating faster. She eventually managed to find her voice after she realized that she was holding Callie's hand longer than necessary. "Nice to meet the both of you."

Arizona was disrupted from her flashback by a knock on the door. She knew it couldn't have been Caitlin because she was off to work and already had her own key, so she figured that it couldn't have been anyone of importance. Her friends knew that it was her day off from the hospital and to not disturb her unless it was an emergency. She turned over in bed, willing the person at the door to go away. There was silence for a while, but then the knocking started again. She groaned and got out of bed, not even bothering to put on more clothes over her simple white tank top and pajama bottoms and made her way to the door. She opened the door and stared in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes making sure that she sleep deprived eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She stood there staring at the figure before her and said the only thing she could muster, "Calliope…"

* * *

Callie stood in front of Arizona with tear stricken eyes that were red at the rim and the sight of a distraught Callie broke Arizona's heart. "Calliope," she managed to get out as more than a whisper this time. "Calliope, what are you doing here?"

Callie couldn't manage to say anything and just fell into Arizona wrapping her arms around her shoulders and sobbing uncontrollably into the crook of Arizona's neck. "He…he…"

Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's waist and pulled her closer to herself. Having Callie so close to Arizona was making Arizona's body have a field day, but she forced herself to stay focused and be there for Callie. She slowly ran her arms up and down Callie's back trying her best to comfort the sobbing brunette in her arms. She was patient and just letting Callie cry it out, but once she sensed the sobs start to slow, she realized they were still standing there in Arizona's doorway. She pulled back a little from Callie and immediately Callie's eyes flashed a bit of fear from the loss of contact, but Arizona was quick to reassure her. "I don't want us to just be standing here in the doorway. Let's move over to the couch at least, okay?" Callie only nodded and allowed Arizona to guide her to the couch. As soon as they were both settled, Callie automatically curled up against Arizona's body and started sobbing again. Arizona was at a loss for what to do and simply held Callie close to her as she cried her out her obvious pain. After the initial shock of seeing Callie randomly show up at her door, Arizona was starting to realize the effect Callie had on her body. The close proximity and the intimacy of their bodies sent Arizona on a roller coaster ride of feelings and emotions. Her body felt like it was on fire and her senses were running wild inhaling Callie intoxicating smell and feeling the softness of her body against her own warm skin. Her head was whirling and she felt like she was about to pass out herself, but she shook her head slightly to force herself to stay focused on Callie and being there for her. She had to be strong for her and she couldn't break down when Callie needed her.

She thought about breaking their comfortable silence and asking Callie if she was ready to talk, but she felt the slow, steady breathing from the body snuggled into her meaning that Callie had fallen asleep. Arizona contemplated getting up and letting Callie sleep on the couch, but as she moved to get up, Callie's grip around her body tightened letting Arizona know that Callie wanted her close to her. So she sat back and wrapped her arms around Callie's body once again and pulled her close. She grabbed the blanket that hung over the back of the couch and wrapped it around both of their bodies as Callie snuggled even closer, if that were possible, to Arizona and had the best sleep she's had in two and a half years.

Callie slept in Arizona's arms for a good four hours and Arizona didn't have any complaints at all having her in her arms. Time seemed to fly by, yet stay still at the same time cuddling with the woman who, after all this time, still held her heart. She felt like there was nowhere else that she belonged except right here with HER Calliope. Callie shifted around next to her and once her eyes fluttered opened, Arizona was greeted with the warm brown eyes that never failed to make her heart race. Now was no exception as her heart started beating considerably faster and Arizona found herself getting lost in those eyes. They sat there in silence for a while, reveling in each other's presence with small smiles splayed across their faces as they stared into one another's eyes, feeling the intensity of their emotions without uttering a word. "Hey there sleepyhead," Arizona greeted Callie softly, never unwrapping her arms from around Callie's body.

Callie giggled and placed her head back into the crook of Arizona's neck. "Hi…" Her smile never left her face as she allowed her senses to be completely engulfed by everything Arizona. "Guess this is just a little weird, huh?"

"Not at all, Calliope. You know that you can always come to me, no matter what. Regardless if you let me know ahead of time or just show up at my front door a complete mess. I'll always be here for you."

"I knew that I could rely on you. I love you, you know that?"

"Calliope…" Arizona sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I umm…" Callie stuttered. "I love that I can trust that I'll never truly be alone in this world because I'll always have you."

Arizona let out a soft chuckle. "That's not any better, Calliope."

"I know… I just… Thank you, Arizona. You really are awesome."

"Any time, Calliope."

"I still love the way you say my name…" Arizona let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'm stopping now."

Arizona cocked up an eyebrow and shifted herself so that she can look at Callie straight on. "I'm glad that you're feeling much better than when you first got here, Calliope, and I don't mean to push or rush you or anything, but it would be nice to know why after all this time you just showed up here at my front door and collapse onto me."

I did not collapse onto you!" Callie exclaimed. Arizona gave her a challenging look and that was all it took for her to look down sheepishly. "Okay, so maybe I did just a LITTLE bit, but so what? I'm still a bad ass." Callie smiled triumphantly.

Arizona certainly didn't want to ruin this moment that they were sharing together filled with laughter and smiles, but she had to know the reason why Callie would just show up completely unannounced on the verge of a complete breakdown. "Calliope…please?"

Callie let out a pained sigh and looked up at Arizona again. This time though, her eyes weren't as bright and wonderful as they usually are, but filled with pain and sadness that Arizona hadn't seen in years. "He's dying, Arizona… My father is dying…"

**I truly do appreciate all of you who took the time to read this fic. I have been a fan of Callie-Arizona stories for a while now and I really wanted my own chance to try it out. So thank you so, so much. =]**


	2. Chapter 2

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 2

[_Flashback_]

Arizona and Callie automatically hit it off at the party. Who would have thought that the perky blonde from a small town in North Carolina and the bad ass Latina from Miami could get along so well? After their introductions, Arizona felt much more at ease and dove right into conversation with Callie. Teddy and Addison shared a knowing look with one another as they glanced back and forth between their friends who were clearly engrossed in an animated conversation. They politely excused themselves from the two, not even knowing if they noticed.

Hours later, Arizona looked around to see that most of the party had cleared out. A little confused, she glanced down to look at her watch and figured out the reason why. "Wow, I didn't know time could fly by so fast."

Callie looked at her own watch to see that it was nearly two in the morning. "Whoa, you're right. You dorm here, yeah?" Arizona nodded. "Cool, let me walk you."

Arizona giggled, "That's not necessary, Calliope." Callie narrowed her eyes a little at Arizona's use of her full name. "What? I think it's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Callie's cheeks flushed at Arizona's compliment. "Okay, fine. You can call me Calliope if you agree to let me walk back to your dorm. Deal?"

"You drive a tough bargain there, Calliope. But sure, I accept your deal, "Arizona answered, flashing Callie her best dimpled smile.

"Good. I wasn't in the mood to have to force you anyways," Callie replied with a wink.

"Oh, force me, huh? And how were you planning to do that?" Arizona challenged.

Callie paused for a second even placing a finger on her chin and tilting her head upward to make it seem like she was pondering a thought. Then she looked at Arizona with a mischievous smile that caused her to get a little nervous at what Callie had planned. "Oh, I don't know…" Callie said in a dangerously sweet voice. "Something…like this!" Callie exclaimed as she grabbed Arizona around the waist and hoisted her over her shoulder.

"Eek! Calliopeeeeeee! Put me down!" Arizona screamed with her arms and legs flailing about. Callie placed Arizona back down after a few more seconds with a smug look on her face. "You are mean, Calliope Torres. A real meanie head!"

"A meanie head? Really, Arizona? What are you, five?" Callie smirked.

"No, but my future patients will be!" Arizona laughed sporting another dimpled smile.

"Alright. Come on, silly. Let's get you home."

They left the party and walked side by side sharing a light conversation in the uncharacteristically cool summer night. A slight breeze blew causing Arizona to shiver and get goose bumps on her arms that didn't go unnoticed by Callie. "Aww, you're cold. Here, take my jacket," Callie said as she started taking off her jacket.

"No, it's okay, "Arizona tried to protest, placing a hand on Callie's shoulder.

"Arizona, don't be stubborn. I can see your goose bumps. So just take it, okay?" Arizona relented and allowed Callie to wrap her leather jacket around her shoulders before continuing on their walk. "Much better."

"Thank you, Calliope." Arizona replied, averting her gaze from Callie and looking down shyly at her shoes while embracing Callie's warmth through her jacket. She looked up to realize that they were just a few steps away from her dorm building. A sad look crossed across her face, not wanting this evening to come to an end. "Well, this is me. Thanks again for walking me." Callie stood before her with an amused smile on her face. "What?" Arizona asked in confusion.

"This is my dorm building too. What a lovely coincidence." Callie smiled even wider.

"No way, you're kidding me."

"I'm 100% serious, Arizona. I live on the fifth floor; room 502."

"Wow! This night just keeps getting better and better. I live on the third floor; room 307." Arizona smiled brightly.

"Well then, shall we?" Callie gestured, holding the door open for Arizona. They slowly ascended the stairs trying to inconspicuously elongate their time together. Unfortunately for them, the third floor approached them too quickly for their liking and they were standing outside of Arizona's door. "It was nice meeting you tonight, Arizona. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Hold that thought," Arizona said holding up a finger indicating she wanted Callie to stay there. "I'll be right back." She ran into her dorm leaving a confused Callie standing outside her door. Moments later she emerged in the hallway. "Sorry about that. But yeah, it was super meeting you tonight too, Calliope. And the same goes to you. You know where to find me." She leaned in and gave Callie a hug. Her body came alive feeling Callie pressed up against her. Before she backed out of Callie's arms, she leaned in closer and whispered into Callie's ear while handing her a slip of paper, "Don't be afraid to use this." She kissed Callie on the cheek and flashed her one final dimpled smile before backing into her dorm and shutting the door.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Arizona was in shock at Callie's news, not quite sure if she heard her correctly. "C-Carlos is…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Callie nodded, "He has a brain tumor. At first we thought it was benign. That's what the doctors in Miami told us, but he kept getting worse and symptoms of something bigger kept popping up more and more and I couldn't let the doctors tell us it wasn't anything big. So I brought my dad to Seattle to see Derek and he…"

Arizona interrupted Callie at the mention of Derek's name. "Wait, Derek knew that you were coming here to Seattle and no one bothered telling me?"

Callie shook her head solemnly. "I'm sorry, Arizona. Derek was the only one who knew I was coming up and I asked him not to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to know I was here."

"Including me?" Arizona's voice was filled with pain.

"Arizona… I didn't know if I could face you. I didn't know if I was strong enough to face what I left behind."

"Callie…"

"NO! Don't _Callie_ me, Arizona. Both of us know that I'm _your_ Calliope. So don't Callie me."

Arizona sighed, "I'm sorry, Calliope… I overreacted. I'm just a little hurt that both you and Derek didn't tell me about you coming up here. Who else knows? Does everyone know and I'm just the last to find out?"

"No, Arizona. Other than Derek, you're the only other person who knows I'm up here in Seattle, okay?"

"What about _George_?" Arizona said his name with such contempt.

"He's out somewhere on the East Coast on some business trip or something."

"He couldn't even be here to support you through this?"

"Please don't make this about him right now, Arizona. I told him to go on that trip. I told him to keep working and just let me handle this. I told him that he didn't have to stand here and comfort me. Because he couldn't measure up to what I need right now anyways."

"Calliope…"

Callie shook her head. "My dad has a pineoblastoma, Arizona. He freaking has cancer and it's killing him! So please, please, don't lecture me about George or Derek right now. Please…"

The desperation in Callie's voice just about killed Arizona. She felt terrible for being self-centered at the moment and picking a fight with Callie about not telling her she was coming up or bringing up George. She knew that that wasn't what Callie needed at all and she was only making her feel worse by unleashing her emotions unfairly onto her. "Hey, hey. Please don't start crying again, Calliope… Come here," she opened up her arms and Callie fell into her again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I was wrong to get angry at you. I'm sorry, my Calliope…"

"Mmm…_Your_ Calliope… I love the sound of that."

"You just have to make everything difficult, don't you?"

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"That you wouldn't." And once again they returned to the more light-hearted mood they had earlier and just enjoyed being in each other's presence. They took this time to talk and catch up on the little things that had been happening in their lives. They talked about their jobs and Arizona caught Callie up on some of the recent drama from Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital. Callie mentioned briefly some things about her hospital over in San Francisco, but didn't say much considering Arizona didn't know any of her co-workers. They laughed over how similar San Fran and Seattle weather could be at times when Callie complained about the crazy on-and-off again rain. They talked for hours and didn't realize that it was nearly three in the afternoon and they talked straight through lunch. "Here we go again talking time away, Calliope. We missed lunch and since I just woke up when you got here, I'm actually really hungry."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Arizona. Here, let me go whip you something up," Callie got up from the couch to make her way into the kitchen.

"You really don't have to do that, Calliope. You're my guest. If anything, _I_ should be making something for _you_."

"Don't be silly, Arizona. I came here and interrupted what looks like your day off. It's the least I can do." She rummaged through the cabinets and frowned when she saw that they were pretty much bare. "Of course you wouldn't have anything I could use to cook a real meal in here. Arizona, how do you survive without eating? I mean sure, it does wonders for keeping your body looking as good as it does, but you need to eat!"

Arizona blushed a little from both embarrassment and flattery. "I'm sorry! I usually don't have the time nor energy to actually cook anything resembling a meal. Besides, you already know the extent of my cooking skills."

Callie couldn't help but smile and let out a slight laugh at the pouting Arizona standing in front of her. "What am I going to do with you, Arizona? Go get dressed. I'll take you out to lunch then. We'll take a rain check on that home cooked meal." Callie could see Arizona about to protest and stopped her before she could start. "Are you really going to try to argue with me again, Arizona? Because you know I will win. You can't resist me after all."

_ If only she knew how true that statement really was, _Arizona thought. "Fine, you win again, Calliope." She got up and retreated to her bedroom to change. Around fifteen minutes later, she was changed and ready to go. "So, where are you taking me?"

"Hmm, I was thinking about our Chinese place?" _God, I missed how easy it was to call anything __**ours**_, she thought.

"Chinese sounds great."

They went to their favorite Chinese restaurant in Downtown Seattle and fell back into their normal routine with one another. It scared Arizona how right it felt to be with Callie and how it was like no one else existed except for the two of them. After their late lunch/early dinner, they decided to take a walk in the park and eventually ended up at their bench that sat atop a hill overlooking the city. Memories of the numerous times they had lunch at that spot to run away from the chaos at the hospital or all the late night conversations/cuddle sessions after a romantic date rushed to Arizona's mind and her heart warmed when she stole a glance over at Callie, smiling loving at her.

"What are you thinking?" Callie asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"Nothing and everything at the same time. I really missed just hanging out and being with you, Calliope. I never realized exactly how much I missed just spending a fun day with you. That's definitely been the most fun I've had in a while."

"Oh, come on. Surely your girlfriend takes you out for a fun night every once in a while. What was her name again?" Callie asked knowing full well what's Arizona's girlfriend's name was.

"Caitlin. Caitlin Thomas. I thought I've talked about her before?" _CT, just like you my Calliope Torres_.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I'm sorry. Must have slipped my mind or something with everything that has been going on." _She has the same initials as me. I wonder if she noticed that. Or if it means something. Oh get over yourself, Callie. She's moved on. You're the one who made the mistake and left her. Don't think that she's still hung up over you, _Callie berated herself. "Well, it's getting pretty late. I bet Caitlin must be getting worried about you." Callie cringed having to pretend to be all unaffected. _She should be coming home to me…_

"Oh yeah, right. Wouldn't want to worry her." Arizona answered tentatively. They walked back to Arizona's apartment with Callie's arm around Arizona's shoulders and Arizona's around Callie's waist. They laughed and brought up some funny memories from the past that caused them to laugh even more. Before they knew it, they were in front of Arizona's door. Arizona fished her keys out of her pocket and opened the door. They didn't pay attention to the brunette standing there with her phone held up to her ear with a worried look in her green eyes. "Arizona! Where the Hell have you been?"

**Okay, so I'm sorry that I didn't talk a lot about Carlos' cancer, but I wanted to build Callie and Arizona's relationship a little first. Thank you to all of you who favorited, story alerted, and reviewed this story. It truly made my day to wake up to all of those notifications. You guys are the best! **

**On another note, what are your thoughts about the flashback to their times in med school leading up to Callie's marriage and then having a "real time" part? I'm sorry if it feels like it's a little slow at first. I promise to build on the marriage thing, Arizona's relationship with Caitlin and all that good stuff in time. =]  
**


	3. Chapter 3

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 3

[_Flashback_]

Arizona leaned back against her door immediately after shutting it. _Where did that just come from? _Sure, she'd been bold and daring in the past when it came to women because she was hot, and she knew it. But with Callie Torres, she'd been just flat out ballsy. _"Don't be afraid to use this"? What was I thinking? And that kiss on the cheek? Oh my God, I probably scared her off…_

"Arizona," her roommate groaned. "Can you please stop pacing and go to bed now, please? I love you and all, but it's almost three in the morning and I still have to work tomorrow morning."

"I'm so sorry for waking you," Arizona responded apologetically. "I'll just go get ready and I'm off to bed. Good night!"

"G'night," was her grumbled answer.

Arizona quickly got ready for bed and laid there in bed staring up at the ceiling. The events of the night ran through her head and she smiled despite herself as she thought of Callie. That radiant smile, those flowing curls, those dreamy eyes, those wonderful curves… Arizona's smile widened thinking about Callie's body and was amazed at how one woman could affect her so much after knowing her for only one night.

There was something about Callie Torres that Arizona couldn't quite put her finger on. All she knew was that Callie was nothing like any of the other girls from Arizona's past. Never before has anyone gotten her so riled up after just meeting them. The feeling was exhilarating, but at the same time, frightening because Arizona knew that if she wasn't careful, she could fall for the beautiful Latina and have her heart completely smashed into a million pieces if she let her guard down.

She swore off relationships and getting involved with women once she started med school and so far, she had been quite successful at it. Yes, she hooked up with someone every once in a while, but she made sure to specify that it was just sex and that she wasn't looking for anything more than that. She didn't want someone to drag her down when she was going after her dream of becoming a doctor and making a difference in people's lives. She'd broken a couple hearts of those that wanted more from her, but she adamantly stuck to her no getting attached rule.

Yet here she was, lying in bed after a long night, thinking about a certain brunette who swept her off her feet and stole her heart. _Hold on, did I seriously just think that? She __**stole**__ my heart? After one night? Non-sense. Arizona Robbins is __not__ that easy. _However, Arizona couldn't shake off the thought looming in the back of her head that she should make an exception to her rule and let Callie have a chance at her heart. She shook her head to stop the mental battle and finally drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Arizona woke up and immediately checked her phone to see if she had any messages or missed calls from Callie. She slumped back down when she saw that she had no new notifications and almost fell back asleep when her phone buzzed in her hand. Although a little disappointed to see that it was only Teddy calling her, she decided to answer anyways. "Hello?" she croaked out.

Teddy chuckled, "Well hello there. Late night?"

Arizona could practically see Teddy's smirk that she was sure was on her face. "Umm…a little, yeah. Calliope and I didn't end up getting home until nearly three in the morning?"

"_Calliope? _Arizona, are you trying to ask for a death sentence here? No one is allowed to call her Calliope. Some arrogant guy tried making fun of her for it the first month and she had him begging for mercy in a matter of minutes. She's totally hardcore. It's pretty hot, don't you think?"

Arizona knew that Teddy was trying to elicit a reaction from her, but she chose to proceed cautiously. She really didn't want to have this conversation right now over the phone after she'd just woken up. "Sure, I suppose," she replied, making sure to keep her voice as neutral as possible. "Hey, want to come over and talk more here, or go out to grab something to eat? I know you're itching for some details about last night and I'd rather not talk about it over the phone."

"Arizona Robbins!" Teddy mock gasped. "Are you actually willingly asking me to hang out?"

"Well, I _was_, but if you're just going to make jokes about it, I can always take back the offer."

"No, no! No need for that, I can assure you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure really. Just in a good mood, I guess."

"Mmm, I bet you are. After a whole night with Callie Torres," Teddy teased.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, Teddy. Just get over here."

* * *

_"Don't be afraid to use this._" Arizona's words had been running through Callie's head all night. The next morning, she woke up groggy from having a restless night. _Why can't I get her out of my head? She's just another girl, right? I mean I have tons of friends. But then…why did everything about her drive me nuts? A good kind of nuts. I loved everything about her; her golden hair, her dimpled smile, her sapphire eyes, her infectious laugh, her soft touch… Get it together Callie! _She mumbled some curses to herself as she rolled out of bed.

She took a long, hot shower to wake herself up. The hot water helped sooth her sore muscles still a little stiff from sleep and ease her racing thoughts. She was washing her face when she reached the spot where Arizona had kissed her last night. Callie let her fingers linger there for a bit, bringing her mind back to last night when Arizona brushed her lips against that very spot.

Callie angrily shook her head and quickly finished her shower. Wrapped in only her towel, she retreated back to her room and automatically picked up her phone to call the only person she felt she could trust with the thoughts dancing around in her brain; well, other than the person who made her brain be in this frenzy in the first place, of course. _Huh, I trust her now? Of course you do, stupid. No one has made you feel that comfortable around them in forever that you'd just start blabbing about your life the way you did last night. Face it, Callie. Arizona Robbins…_ "Hello?"

"Hey, Addie."

"Morning, Callie. What's up?"

"Umm…want to go grab some lunch or something?"

"Yeah sure. Any particular reason?"

"I, uh, want to talk to you about something."

"Something like, hmm, let's see… A particular blondie that we met last night by chance?" Addison teased.

Callie was silent for a moment. "How about you just get here and we'll talk. Okay?"

"I'll be there soon."

* * *

Teddy came over shortly after Arizona dressed and they left to go have lunch at a small, local diner. "So how did things go after Addison and I left you guys?"

Arizona blushed after thinking about Callie again. "Well, we talked. A lot actually. I don't think I've ever met someone as intriguing as her. I don't think I've ever just talked to someone for so long and not run out of things to talk about. She's...miraculous. Breathtakingly stunning. I just, I couldn't stop looking at her and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, cowgirl. Aren't we taking it a little fast here?"

"I can't help it, Teddy! This girl, she… She makes me forget all my rules. She makes me forget why I've been holding back from people all these years. She makes me forget about all the pain from my past. She makes me feel important. She makes me feel like I'm the only person in her eyes. She makes me happy."

"All after one night?"

"All after I laid eyes on her."

* * *

"I'm freaking out, Addison," Callie said, pacing around her room. "I'm freaking out because this girl… She makes me feel something. Something I absolutely cannot feel!"

"Callie, calm down alright? It's not really that big of a deal."

"Addison! We are talking about a **girl.**As in G-I-R-L. Ugh, my dad will so kill me."

"Callie, you can't live your life always doing what your father wants. You'll never be happy if you keep trying to please him your whole life. You have to do what's best for you. What makes _you_ happy."

Callie let out a defeated sigh. "Oh Addie, I wish it were that simple…"

* * *

[_Present Time_]

"Caitlin," Arizona stammered. "Umm… What's up?"

"What's up? What's up! I've been worried about you! It's eleven o'clock, Arizona! I've been wondering where you were for six hours. You don't leave a note, you don't call, you don't answer my phone calls; what the Hell, Arizona? And then you come home all giggly and all over some woman?"

"Hey, calm down a second, Caitlin. I'm sorry for not calling or leaving a note. I really didn't anticipate being out for this long and I accidentally left my phone. I'm sorry. I just lost track of time. I'm sorry, really," Arizona pleaded with a fuming Caitlin.

Sensing the tension between the two and the angry glare in Caitlin's green eyes, Callie decided to excuse herself. "Umm… I'm sorry for keeping her out, Caitlin. I'm really sorry. I'll just be on my way now though. I'm sorry again. It was nice meeting you. I'll, uhh, catch you around, Arizona."

Momentarily stunned, Arizona stood frozen for a couple of seconds before going after Callie. "Calliope, wait!"

"Arizona, go back to her. I don't want to cause any more problems for you tonight."

"Caitlin can wait," Arizona responded, shocking even herself. "Umm… What I mean is, let me walk you out at least?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay." They decided to take the elevator and allowed a comfortable silence to fill the air. They stood closely next to each other, but not close enough to actually be touching the other. They kept up the quiet until they were outside Arizona's apartment complex. Callie stepped outside first and slowly turned around to face Arizona. With Callie standing one step lower, the two were actually standing eye-to-eye. Callie's breath hitched when she met Arizona's gaze and saw the adoration and love in her, once again, sparkling blue eyes. She cleared her throat to pull herself together before finally speaking. "I really did have an amazing time today, Arizona. Thank you for taking care of me," she said with a genuine smile on her face.

Arizona cracked a small smile before pulling Callie into a tight hug. "Thank you for coming to me. I missed you so much, Calliope."

"God, I missed you too, Arizona," Callie whispered into her hair. "More than you could ever imagine," she added so quietly she didn't even know if Arizona even heard her.

Arizona nearly melted at Callie's words, but she reluctantly pulled herself out of Callie's warm embrace and felt the absence almost immediately. "I should get back to Caitlin. She's probably really pissed and wanting some answers," she paused. "Will I see you again before you leave?"

"Of course. I'll call you, if that's okay. I would love to see you again. When I'm with you…it's like I can forget everything bad that's happening in my life and for a rare moment, I feel…good; happy. Feelings that don't come by very often these days."

"Calliope… You can't say those kinds of things to me. You know that I'm involved with someone. And I have been for a while now."

"I know that, Arizona. I know. I'm sorry. I just, when I'm with you. I feel safe. And today, I felt safe. Like nothing could hurt me. And I missed-"

"I'm sorry, Calliope. I have to go." And with that, she quickly brushed her lips against Callie's cheek before turning around and back into the building. She rushed up the stairs and practically ran back into her apartment. She leaned back against her door and let out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. She slowly opened her eyes to see a very angry Caitlin staring back at her with her arms crossed across her chest.

"You have about ten seconds to start explaining, and explaining fast, Arizona Robbins. I will absolutely not tolerate it if you're cheating on me."

"Caitlin, it's not-"

"Oh, and don't even bother lying. Because the only thing I hate more than a cheater is a liar. So don't even try doing either."

"Caitlin." Arizona said sternly, waiting for Caitlin to stop her ranting before she continued. "I'm not cheating on you, okay? That was Callie. She's an old friend from medical school. She's in town because her dad is sick. I spent time with her today because she showed up at my door in tears. In tears, Caitlin." Arizona's anger started rising. "So no, you do _not_ have the right to accuse me of cheating." She huffed and headed towards her bedroom.

As Arizona walked past Caitlin, Caitlin grabbed her arm and looked up at her with a pleading look. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was out of line. And you're right. I shouldn't have accused you of cheating. You've been nothing but great and you don't deserve that. I was just so scared and feared the worst when I didn't hear from you. Please forgive me?"

Arizona wanted to stay angry at Caitlin for her accusations, but part of her didn't blame Caitlin. Callie was beautiful and would make anyone insecure if she came home late with their significant other. She looked down into Caitlin's eyes and saw that she was sincere in her apology. "Of course I forgive you. Come on, let's just go to bed, okay? We've had a pretty long day and I have work tomorrow. So let's just put this behind us, alright?" Caitlin nodded and Arizona reached out her hand for her to take.

Caitlin wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulders and pulled her in close. She smelled good, but her scent didn't intoxicate Arizona and dizzy her the way that Callie's did. Her arm was comforting, but nothing compared to the safety and warmth she felt in Callie's arms. "I love you," Caitlin whispered in her ear.

"Love you, too," Even saying those words to her felt wrong to her. _Snap out of it, Arizona, _she berated herself. _Calliope has been back for a day and I'm already questioning everything. She's only going to be here until her dad gets better, Arizona. Then she'll be going back to California and leaving you behind, again. Caitlin, she loves you. Focus on her. _She looked over at Caitlin nestled in her arms and smiled down at her. _Caitlin is amazing in every single way, _she thought. _But she's still no Calliope. And she never will be. _She frowned at those last thoughts and willed herself to go to sleep so she wouldn't have to think about the gorgeous woman who still held her heart in her hands.

**Thank you again for those of you who reviewed and alerted both my story and me, which was super flattering btw. =] **

**I promise that the next flashback part will answer some of the questions that I know you guys have about Callie and Arizona's past in medical school. **

**But let me know what you think of this installment. Even if it's encouraging me to update soon. I love knowing that you guys love my imagination turned into words. **

**You're the best. 3**

**Points if you recognize the movie reference!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 4

[_Flashback_]

"You should call her."

"I wouldn't know what to say."

"You talked to the girl for an entire night and you wouldn't know what to say?"

"Addison…" Callie complained.

Addison cocked an eyebrow up. "What? It's a valid statement! You're just being ridiculous."

Callie groaned as she flopped back into bed. "No, Addison. _You're_ being ridiculous. What if I read the signs wrong? What if she rejects me and I make a complete fool out of myself? What if-"

"What if this and what if that? Callie, you won't know unless you try, am I right? Now, Arizona won't reject, okay?" She should see Callie about to protest that point and interrupted her before she could. "Because she'd be an idiot if she did. You're hot, Callie. I'm straight and I will admit that. And from the way she was looking at you at that party, I'm sure that blondie was into you." Addison snatched Callie's phone off of her nightstand and searched through Callie's contact list. "Ah, here we are. Now talk to her." Callie bolted up immediately with her eyes opened up widely in fear and panic. "Hurry up now, she'll be answering soon," Addison snickered.

"Addison! I am so going to- Oh, hi. Is this Arizona?" Callie said sweetly into the phone though her eyes were still throwing daggers at Addison.

"It is. May I ask who's calling?" Arizona breathed into the phone.

_Oh no… She was, with someone, and I, I missed my chance and…_ "Hey, it's Callie. From the party the other night."

"Callie…" Arizona pondered for a second. "OH! Right, Calliope! How are you? Sorry if I'm all out of breath. I was just at the gym trying to blow off some steam."

Relief rushed through Callie's body knowing that she wasn't in bed having sex with anyone so soon after their amazing night. "Oh no, that's quite alright. I'm sorry if I interrupted your workout. I can always just call back later when you're not-"

"Calliope, stop rambling," Arizona chuckled. "It's fine really; I could use a little breather right now anyways. What's up?"

"I, umm," _You make me crazy and I can't stop thinking about you ever since you kissed me on the cheek and I can still feel your lips on my skin and your smell flaring up my senses and your body making mine react in ways that it never has before and-_

"Calliope, are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm still here, sorry. Just got a little side-tracked there for a second. Anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with me again some time?"

"Of course, Calliope. I would love to hang out with you again. How does dinner tomorrow night sound?"

"That sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow then. I'll pick you up at your dorm. Say around, 8?"

"Eight will be awesome. See you later, Calliope. Bye."

"Bye, Arizona." Callie waited until she heard the click indicating that Arizona hung up before turning towards Addison with a big smile on her face. "Oh yeah, I'm a total badass."

* * *

The next afternoon, Arizona stood in her dorm room staring into her closet with a frustrated look on her face. She already had seven other outfits thrown all around the bed and she couldn't find one that felt right."For the love of God, Arizona. Just pick something! You'll look fine in anything. You're like a hanger, so please, for both of our sanities, just throw something on already."

"Ugh, Teddy, I can't decide! Nothing feels right. I want to look my best for Calliope tonight."

"You're so lame, Arizona. She will love anything you're in." After seeing Arizona's desperate face, she sighed and walked up to her closet herself. "Here," she said pulling out a blue dress. "Go with this. It'll highlight your eyes."

Arizona looked up and down the dress before smiling and clapping her hands in victory. "This is perfect! You're the best, Teddy." She pulled Teddy in for a quick hug before stripping down and changing into the dress. "Wow, you're right. This dress _does _make my eyes look _super_ blue."

"Told you. Now come on and let's finish getting you ready before Callie gets here."

Forty-five minutes later, Arizona's hair was perfectly curled and her make-up done lightly to let her natural beauty shine. "How do I look?" Arizona asked doing a little twirl for Teddy.

"You look awesome. You'll definitely win her over, for sure," Teddy added a wink to tease Arizona even more.

"You're impossible! I'm trying to be serious here!" Arizona didn't get to say anymore as a light knock sounded from her door. "Oh my God, she's here. She's here!" She exclaimed excitedly and skipped over to the door. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before opening the door. Standing there in her doorway was an absolutely stunning Callie Torres wearing a black dress that hugged her body in all the right places. Arizona's face flushed and her heart raced taking in the sight of the beautiful Latina before her. "Calliope, wow, you look wonderful."

"Oh, this old thing?" She swished her dress around a little for emphasis. "Eh, it's nothing really. Your dress is beautiful. It definitely brings out your eyes."

Arizona's blush deepened at Callie compliment and looked over her shoulder at Teddy real quick, flashing her a giddy grin, before turning back to Callie. "Why thank you, Calliope. That's extremely sweet of you. Now I don't know about you, but I'm starved. So, shall we?"

* * *

They had a nice, quiet dinner at a small Italian restaurant that was full of stolen looks, mega-watt/dimpled smiles, flirty, seemingly innocent, lingering touches, and twinkles in chocolate brown and sapphire blue eyes. Long story short, the dinner was a smashing success. The soft lighting did wonders for Callie's skin tone and Arizona found herself falling deep into her. _God, I could seriously fall for this woman._

"Are you up for going for a walk?" Callie asked, hoping Arizona would agree because she didn't want this night with her to be over quite yet.

Arizona grinned slightly, "It's like you can read my mind, Calliope." They walked around in a nearby park standing close enough that their hands brushed against each other, but neither having the courage to take the step to lace their fingers together. Taking a look at her watch, Arizona saw that it was nearly one in the morning. _But I don't want to leave… _Arizona mentally whined. _How does she make time seem like it just speeds by when I'm with her?_ Arizona let out a small sigh at that thought.

"Is everything alright?" Callie asked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just that it's getting late and we should probably head back now. I'm just being a little, selfish, whiny baby because I don't want you to go quite yet," Arizona blushed at her confession.

Callie smiled a little at Arizona's reddened cheeks thinking she was so adorable at that moment. "You're right. We should get back now. And I know what you mean. This night has been so perfect that I don't want to go yet. But come on, let's head back. We can always hang out another night, right?"

An idea popped into Arizona's head, "Calliope Torres, are you suggesting a second date?" she teased.

Callie was quiet for a moment. "_Maybe_," she decided to play along with Arizona's games.

Arizona looked over at Callie, trying to read both her expression and tone to see if she was sincere or just kidding around. "Really?"

"We'll see. You've still got the rest of the night to make me want that second date," Callie threw in a wink for an added effect.

Arizona stood there stunned into place by Callie's blatant flirting before realizing that Callie kept on walking ahead of her with a smug look on her face. Arizona gathered herself and quickened her pace to catch up to Callie and intertwined their fingers when she caught up with her. Now it was Callie who was stunned and Arizona wearing the smug look when Callie's heart started racing feeling Arizona's soft, warm hand in hers. They walked hand-in-hand back to their dorm since everything seemed to be in walking distance of their building.

"I had a wonderful night. Thanks for taking me out, Calliope," Arizona said once they were standing in the hallway outside of her room.

"Thank you for coming out with me, Arizona. And I'm sorry that it took me a couple days to call you after the party. I hope you've forgiven me by now?" Callie answered, unknowingly inching closer to Arizona.

"Of-of course I have," Arizona murmured, immediately becoming nervous having Callie be so close to her. "I-I…" Arizona couldn't concentrate with Callie hovering literally mere centimeters now from her lips. She threw her arms around Callie's neck and closed the distance between their lips, eliciting a gasp from the brunette. At first the kiss was soft and sweet, but Arizona soon deepened the kiss and Callie pushed her up against her door as the passionate heat of their kiss intensified. Arizona couldn't hold in a slight groan at having Callie's body pressed up so close to hers.

Upon hearing Arizona's groan, Callie pulled back, completely out of breath, and with a look of shock on her face. "I, umm, I," Callie nervously mumbled, looking everywhere but Arizona's eyes. "I should go," she whispered. "I should go," she repeated, a bit stronger this time. "I'm sorry, Arizona. I shouldn't have… I should go." And with that Callie hurriedly took off down the hallway and into the stairwell before Arizona had a chance to process what had just happened. _What the Hell did I just do? _Callie thought once she ran up the stairs and was safely in her room.

_What just happened? _Arizona wondered with confusion, lifting her fingers to her lips that still tingled from the beautiful Latina that had graced them just minutes ago.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Arizona made a note to stay away from Carlos Torres' room and so far, she'd been successful at that. She didn't know if she could handle seeing a man she'd known for years and learned to love and respect lie in a hospital bed broken down by cancer. She asked Derek what his prognosis was and he said that it wasn't good. The cancer had spread much faster than expected and they weren't sure if the risky surgery would be enough to save him. She also hadn't spoken to Callie since the evening they spent together because she wasn't sure if she could keep her feelings in check around her.

Callie made Arizona feel insecure about her strength and self-control. Things had been easier to deal with when Callie was hundreds of miles away in San Francisco; Arizona had built up a strong defense in Callie's absence. But now with her return and waltzing back into her life, Arizona could feel her reserves crumbling. If she was feeling doubtful after only one night, she couldn't imagine how she would feel seeing, talking to, and being around Callie on a daily basis. She knew it wouldn't be long before she lost her inner battle and lose herself in Callie again.

And here came the inner turmoil; Arizona wasn't a cheater. She had been in a committed relationship with Caitlin for a year and a half. Caitlin picked up her broken pieces and patiently placed Arizona back together. She made her stop her excessive drinking, she made Arizona stop with the chain smoking, and she warmed Arizona's heart back up after it had been cold for a long, full year. Caitlin was the perfect girlfriend in so many ways and Arizona did love her. It's just that Caitlin Thomas wasn't Calliope Torres. She couldn't fill the void in Arizona's heart that belonged to the ravenous brunette. She didn't ignite Arizona in a way that only Callie could. She was safe, and she was kind, loving, sweet, but she was nothing like the woman who had Arizona's heart.

Arizona was more angered at herself than anyone because she couldn't just rid herself of her feelings for Callie. She had a wonderful, beautiful girlfriend at home who loved and was devoted to her. That should be enough for anyone, right? Arizona was sitting in an on-call room with a chart propped up in her lap that she was working on before her mind got distracted with the battle between Caitlin and Callie, between her head and her heart. The door opened and Arizona looked up to see Callie standing there looking right at her. "I had a feeling I'd find you here."

"How did you know where to find me?"

"Come on, Arizona. Two and a half years may have passed, but there are some parts of you that I will always know. But other than that, I mean this is _our_ on-call room, is it not?"

Arizona looked around and noticed that she was indeed in _their_ on-call room. So many memories were held inside these four walls and Arizona almost took another trip down memory lane, but was interrupted by Callie clearing her throat. "You're right. I suppose it is. Anyways, how are you? How are things with Carlos?"

Callie's face changed to a more saddened look as she averted her gaze away from Arizona. "You would know if you weren't trying to avoid me like the plague."

"I wasn't-"

"Please don't lie to me right now, Arizona. I've called you over and over again this past week and you haven't answered a single one of them or called me back for that matter. Every time I'm walking down the hall, you seem to take off in the opposite direction thinking that I haven't seen you. What is going on, Arizona? Why are you doing this?"

Callie finally looked up and Arizona immediately felt guilty as she saw Callie's eyes starting to pool with tears and displayed her emotions for Arizona to see. She could see that Callie was hurt. She could see that Callie was in pain and a hint of despair after having to deal with her father's condition on her own here in Seattle. She dropped the chart and rushed over to Callie, pulling her into her. "Oh no, Calliope. Please don't cry," she whispered into Callie's hair.

Callie fell into Arizona's arms and started sobbing, much like when she showed up at Arizona's door when she first got to Seattle. "W-why, Ari-Arizona? Why are you trying to stay away from me?"

_Because I don't know how to control myself around you, _Arizona thought to herself. "I'm so sorry, Calliope. I was just scared. And stupid. So incredibly stupid."

"He's asking about you." Arizona pulled back a little confused and wiped away some of Callie's tears as she searched her eyes, trying to find the rest of the story behind that statement. "He knows that you're in the hospital, Arizona. And he's a little hurt too that you won't stop by to visit him."

"I don't know how to face him," Arizona softly admitted.

"You've known my father for years, Arizona, and he loves you. I'm sure you'll know exactly how to face him once you see him. Now come on, he's been waiting to see you for a long time now."

* * *

They walked over to Carlos' room while Callie tried calming Arizona's nerves the entire way there. However, Callie was right and once Arizona was standing in Carlos' room, she knew exactly how to face him. All three of them fell into easy conversation as Arizona caught him up on her life in Seattle and a few things about her family. Time flew by, but it was interrupted when Arizona's pager went off. "Damnit, there's a trauma coming in the pit, I have to go. But I'll stop by after my shift or something, okay?"

"Don't worry, I understand. I'll see you later, _mija_," Arizona nearly teared up at Carlos' term of endearment and flashed both him and Callie an apologetic smile before taking off for the ER. "She's a great girl, Calliope. A really amazing girl."

Callie just smiled and nodded. _I already know that, _she thought. _She couldn't still have my heart today if she were anything less than awesome._

_

* * *

_

Hours later, Arizona returned to Carlos' room all changed since her shift was over. The kid that came in the ER earlier made it through his surgery and so Arizona was in a good mood. She walked in quietly after seeing Callie asleep over in one of the visitor's chairs. "Hey there, _mija_. Glad to see you again."

"You too, Carlos. How are you feeling right now?"

"I've had better nights, but I'm okay. You seem happy, everything go alright today?"

"Everything was super! Thanks for asking."

"Good, good. I'm glad to hear it. Now pull up a chair. I want to talk to you about something."

"Of course," Arizona responded, carefully grabbing the other visitor chair and sitting down next to Carlos, instinctively holding his hand once she sat down. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I have to catch her."

Arizona sat there, absolutely confused as to where he was going with this. "What?"

"I've always had to catch her. For all her life, Calliope's been on a bridge. And she wouldn't just walk on it either. No, she'd climb on the railing and be ready to leap. When she does, when it happens, I have to be there, I have to catch her because it's my job as her father."

"Carlos, what you talking about? Calliope is strong and she doesn't need-"

"What I'm trying to say is that I've been trying to protect her her whole life, Arizona. I've tried making decisions that will make her life better in the long run. But the truth is, I haven't done what's best for her. I've done what I thought was best for me. For my family, for my name. If I had done what was best for her, I would have never pushed her to marry George. I know that she doesn't love him. Not in the way that she loves someone else. You are a good person, Arizona, and I have never had anything against you. But all those years ago when I saw that Calliope had fallen for you, I was scared that her being with a woman would cause chaos within the Torres family. So I made sure that she didn't choose you. And it was so horrible for me to do, but at the time I thought it was best for my daughter. Please forgive me, Arizona. It is all my fault. Calliope loves you, Arizona. She always has, and I think she always will. You're a very special girl, Arizona Robbins. And I can see why my Calliope has fallen so in love with you. You make her happy. Happier than I have ever seen her in her life. Lately that happiness hasn't been there and I know why. I can't let my daughter suffer anymore because of me trying to protect my name from some unimportant bigots. What I should have cared about in the beginning was her happiness. And that is what you are. You're her happiness."

"C-Carlos, I-I don't know what to say to that…"

"There isn't anything to say, Arizona. I can see it in your eyes that you still love my Calliope. And I know that things have been messed up in the past, but I know that you will do what is right. Promise me, that you'll make her happy again."

"Carlos, I can't make promises like that I-"

"Promise me, Arizona." Carlos interrupted more sternly.

Arizona sighed defeatedly, her mind rushing through all her emotions right now, barely able to comprehend anything since she was thinking about everything. "I promise," she finally whispered out softly, sincerely. Unknown to the both of them, Callie was sitting there with her eyes closed, listening in to their entire conversation. Her heart melted and her eyes filled with tears at her father's words and hearing Arizona's promise. A smile tugged at her lips, but she fought it trying to pretend that she was still asleep.

"Good. Thank you, Arizona." And with those last words, Arizona felt Carlos' grip weaken on her hand before his stats monitor let out a blaring alarm that stopped Arizona's heart.

"NO! DADDY!" Came Callie's voice from behind Arizona's shoulder as she came rushing over to her father's bedside. "Daddy, no. Please hang on. Don't die on me! Come on, please hang on, daddy. Live!"

**At night, normal people go to sleep. However, I am not normal and do my best writing in the late night/early morning hours. Crazy, huh?**

**You all will probably kill me now leaving you with two cliffhangers, but I'm sorry! I had to do it to keep your attention and wanting more, right? =P  
**

**Anyways, this one is extra long to make up for the lack of updates I'll probably have for the holidays, so I hope you liked it.**

**Happy Holidays to everyone! This is my present to all of you, so maybe, if you're a kind, sweet soul, you'll give me one of my own by telling me what you thought?**

**Even if it's just to yell at me to keep you hanging, I'll absolutely accept those too. =]  
**


	5. Chapter 5

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 5

[_Flashback_]

For the first few days after their kiss, Arizona was freaking out and blaming herself for rushing things and moving too fast with Callie. She stood at Callie's door several times thinking about knocking and apologizing profusely for being so forward, but she didn't have the nerve to face her. After the fifth day of not seeing nor hearing from Callie, Arizona got angry. She understood that Callie needed some space to process and think about things if she was shocked, but avoiding her for five days was just immature. If the kiss bothered her so much, the least she could do was be an adult about it and talk to her so they could both move on with their lives.

Arizona decided to deal with her anger the best way she knew how; she was going to go to the gym to work off her aggression, then go buy a dozen doughnuts to make herself feel better. Two and half hours later, Arizona left the gym feeling a bit more relieved as she stretched out her aching muscles. There were very few things that felt better than that post-work out ache. She was on her way to the store to grab her doughnuts when a familiar voice called out to her, "Arizona! Wait up!"

Arizona froze upon hearing her voice, but didn't dare turn around. Her anger nearly disappeared at the sound of Callie's sweet, almost melodic voice and she was scared that if she turned around, all her resolve would crumble completely. So she stayed facing away from Callie because she needed to let Callie know that she wouldn't be forgiven so easily. "Arizona, please…"

"What do you want, Callie?"

Her nickname sounded so foreign coming from Arizona's lips that she was taken aback for a moment. "I-I wanted to talk."

"What is there to talk about, Callie? You are obviously freaked out from that kiss and don't want to be with me. But it's not just that that I am upset about. You couldn't at least tell me that it freaked you out and wasn't what you wanted. No! You went and avoided me. Do you know how that makes me feel? Do you even know what's been running through my mind these past couple of days? I've been blaming myself. I've been cursing myself for taking things too fast and for not being able to control myself around you. I felt like a whore, a dirty slut throwing myself onto you like that. I was so disgusted with myself. But whatever, it's already happened. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way. See you around or something, Callie." Arizona's fists were clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms and tears were streaming down her face, so she kept herself facing away from Callie and forcing her voice to stay as strong as possible. She'd be damned if she allowed Callie to see her cry.

Callie knew that Arizona was crying even though she couldn't see her face and she hated that Arizona was crying. What she hated even more was that she was the cause of those tears. But she didn't know what to say, where to even start. She knew a simple sorry wouldn't be enough; Arizona would probably slap her across the face for that and she wouldn't blame her. What do you say to though to the girl whose heart you just broke? "Arizona… Please look at me."

"I don't want to look at you right now, Callie."

"Can you please stop calling me that?"

"Why? It's your name, isn't it?"

"Arizona, please don't be like that. You're the only one I let call me Calliope, so don't Callie me. And come on, turn around so we can talk." When Arizona still refused to turn around, Callie tentatively walked closer to her. "Please…" Callie whispered into Arizona's ear.

Although Callie wasn't touching her, Arizona could feel her body tingling from Callie's scent and warmth radiating off of her. A spark spread throughout her entire body when she felt Callie's breath tickle her ear and she knew that if she leaned back just a few more inches, then she could press her body up against Callie's and have her wrap her arms around her like she's wanted for the past few days. But she couldn't give in this easily; she couldn't let Callie know how much power she held over her. So she braced herself. She took a deep breath and steadied herself before turning around to face Callie.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw when she turned around though. She wasn't prepared to see the pain and anguish on Callie's face. She wasn't prepared to see the eye bags and red eyes. She wasn't ready to see Callie's tear stained cheeks or tussled hair. She wasn't ready to see Callie so desperate or defeated. And she definitely wasn't ready for, after seeing all of this, Callie still making her weak in the knees. Sensing Arizona's moment of vulnerability, Callie slowly reached up to touch her. Arizona leaned into Callie's hand, savoring the feel of her touch. Trying to seize the opportunity, Callie leaned in, but Arizona stopped her right before their lips met. "Stop, Calliope," she shuddered. She reached up and took Callie's hand down from her face, but didn't step away. Instead, she held Callie's hand in her own and pressed their foreheads together. "I-I can't, Calliope. I can't play these games with you. I'm not a toy and I really don't want to be hurt again. So please, just do us both a favor and stay away from me for a while, okay? Maybe we can be friends again later or something once I stop having all these feelings for you. So just..stay away, please?" And with that, Arizona turned around and left, leaving a speechless Callie in her wake.

* * *

Once she thought she was out of Callie's sight, Arizona took off. She just started running as a fresh batch of tears burned their way down her face. Her lungs were aching and begging for oxygen but she pushed herself to keep moving forward, hoping to run away from her pain. She ended up in the park that she and Callie walked through the night of the kiss before Arizona finally collapsed and broke down, luckily in a relatively secluded area of the park. She cried out of frustration, pain, confusion, anger; a whole collection of emotions that only encouraged more tears because she couldn't pinpoint what she felt.

She just kept crying and crying to the point of near hysteria and quite frankly, that just added more to her anger. She was Arizona freaking Robbins and she was awesome. But right now she certainly didn't feel like it, sobbing in a park over some girl. _Why am I sitting here crying over some girl? Arizona Robbins doesn't let girls get close enough to her to hurt her. What happened to that girl? I finally let my guard down for once and I end up getting burned for giving her a chance. Pull yourself together, Arizona. You're better than this. You. Are. Great._

_

* * *

_

"I seriously messed up this time, Addie. I finally came up to talk to her and I couldn't say anything. I walked right up to her and froze. I tried to apologize but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I stood there like an idiot and listened to her yell at me and tell me how much I hurt her and I did nothing. Nothing, Addison! I'm the biggest fool in the world. I didn't even get an 'I'm sorry' out. God, I'm so stupid!"

"Callie, would you slow down so I can actually understand what you're saying?"

"I-I blew it, Addison. I ruined us before we even had a chance to be something."

"I get that you feel bad for hurting her feelings and all, but you seem really hung up over this. I mean, I'm sure that Arizona is a great girl and all, but you shouldn't be this torn up over what happened. You two just didn't work out and in time you'll both move on and be happy with your lives."

"You don't get it, Addie."

"Then make me understand, Callie."

"She's not just some girl who didn't end up 'working out', alright? She's different."

"She's _different_?"

"She's different," Callie reiterated affirmatively. "When I'm with her, my world stops. She makes my heart race by just looking at me. She makes my knees weak when she smiles at me. I feel complete when she's holding my hand. And when I'm in her arms, kissing her, I've never felt anything that felt so right. Wherever she is, that's where I feel that I belong. I know this is crazy since I've known her for barely more than a week but I know that Arizona is special. I know that she makes me feel these things that I've never felt before for anyone else before in my life. And it scares me. It scares me that I feel so strongly for her already after such a short amount of time. It scares me that she's broken through all my barriers and I haven't made any attempts to stop her."

"You know, Cal, I shouldn't be the one who you're saying all of this to."

"I know…"

"You know what you have to do, right?"

"I have to win her back."

* * *

[_Present Time_]

"Someone get them out of here!" Derek ordered as soon as he got in Carlos's room.

"What?" Arizona questioned in surprise. "Come on, Derek. I can help too, I can-"

"Arizona, not this time, okay? Right now, you aren't a doctor here. Right now, you and Callie are his friends and family. Please don't argue with me and just take Callie outside to the waiting area."

"Save him, Derek. You need-you need to save him."

"I'll do my best, Arizona."

* * *

The problem turned out to be a burst aneurysm and they rushed Carlos up to surgery immediately. Derek and the surgical team encountered some complications that caused them to be unsure of his recovery. Callie was distraught. She stayed by her father's bedside, crying, as minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days and days turned into a week. Arizona felt useless not being able to do anything and just stand by watching Callie completely fall to pieces.

After a week of no change in Carlos' condition, enough was enough. She couldn't let Callie break because she had a promise to keep; she had to take care of Callie and make her happy. After her shift ended she stopped by to find Callie in the same position she's pretty much been stuck in all week. It broke Arizona's heart to see the normally strong, independent Callie leaning over her father's bedside constantly crying and looking all sorts of disarray. "Calliope, you should go get some real rest. You need to sleep in an actual bed, eat some decent food, get a change of clothes... You need to take care of yourself a little bit here too, you know."

"I can't leave him, Arizona. Besides, I don't have anywhere to go. We were only staying in a hotel when we got here and have checked out a while ago. I can't go to a hotel right now when my dad is lying here fighting for his life. I can't leave him alone here nor can I handle being alone either."

"Then come home with me," Arizona blurted out without thinking.

"What?"

_Too late to back out now._ "I said come back to my place. You wouldn't have to check into a hotel and I'd be there with you so you wouldn't be alone either. Come on, just say yes. I can't let you stay here another night like this. I can't let you continue to ruin yourself too."

"Okay." Callie managed meekly.

"Okay?" Callie nodded her answer for Arizona. "Let's get going then. You can borrow anything you need and we'll order a pizza for dinner. That sound good?" Callie merely nodded her answer again allowing Arizona to gather her up and lead her out the door.

* * *

"There are towels in the bathroom and I'll grab some pajamas for you to wear. I can also throw some of your clothes into the wash so you have something to wear tomorrow. The pizza should be here when you're done."

Callie was quiet for a moment waiting inside the bathroom for Arizona to bring her some clothes. Arizona handed her an old college shirt and sweatpants and before she turned to walk away, Callie grabbed her hand. "I just-thank you, Arizona. Thank you for being here for me and taking care of me. I certainly don't deserve it, but thank you so much. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."

"You're welcome, Calliope. Now hurry and get cleaned up so you can relax tonight." Arizona offered her a smile before leaving Callie in the bathroom. She paced the living room back and forth thinking about how wrong this situation was. She was torn between how to handle telling Caitlin about Callie staying over for the night; lie, possibly get caught, and get in huge trouble or just tell the truth and face a possible argument. She knew what she had to do.

"Hello?" Caitlin answered after the third ring.

"Hey, Caitlin. It's Arizona."

"What's up, baby? My work ran a little later than I thought, but I should be over soon. Did you want to go out for dinner or should I pick something up or-"

"About that… I was wondering if it would be okay if you didn't come over tonight. I have some company over."

"Oh, that's no problem. Who's your guest? Are they planning on staying over?"

"It's Callie. And yeah, she will be. Her dad isn't doing so great and I had to force her out of the hospital tonight just to get her to freshen up a little." Silence came on the other end of the line while Arizona awaited Caitlin's response. "Caitlin?..."

"Huh? Umm, sorry. No, yeah. That's fine. I'm glad that you're being such a great friend to Callie. I'm sure she could really use one right now. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Thank you, sweetheart. I'll talk to you later."

"That the girlfriend?"

"Calliope!" Arizona gasped. "I, uhh, didn't hear you there."

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's no problem. But yeah, that was Caitlin. I called to let her know that you were staying over tonight."

"What'd she say about that?"

"What is there to say? She was fine with it. Said she's glad that I can be here for you."

"She seems like a wonderful girl."

"Yeah, she really is…"

* * *

After dinner, the two settled on the couch to watch a little TV and share a little small talk before Callie let out a big yawn not realizing how tired she really was. "Wow, I never noticed how tired I actually was."

"Yeah, it's a wonder how exhausted someone gets after not sleeping or eating for a week."

"Oh shut up, Arizona. Don't be smart with me." Callie chuckled.

"I'll grab you a blanket so just sit tight and I'll be right back." Arizona padded to her bedroom to grab an extra blanket from the closet and a pillow off her bed before returning to Callie. "I hope the couch is fine. I'm sorry I don't have an extra room or bed for that matter to offer you, I-"

"Don't worry, Arizona. This is fine."

"Are you sure?" Callie could see the worry in Arizona's eyes and it made her smile at how cute the blonde looked at that moment. She just smiled at her and gave her a little nod to indicate that she was okay. "Well, I'll let you get some rest now. If you need me, I'll just be over in my room. Goodnight, Calliope."

"G'night, Arizona."

* * *

Some few hours later, Arizona heard her door crack open along with the sound of feet carefully walking across the floor before Callie was at her bedside. "Calliope?" Arizona sleepily whispered out.

"I'm so sorry to wake you, Arizona. I just-I don't want to be alone out there. I keep tossing and turning worrying about my dad in the hospital and I can't fall asleep if I'm alone with my thoughts out there. It's-"

"Of course, Calliope. Of course. Here, you can sleep with me tonight. I won't let you be alone," Arizona lifted up her blanket offering Callie to get in.

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry if I'm being a pain."

"You're not. You're never a pain," Arizona responded as she wrapped her arms around Callie, pulling her to her. "Now just try to go to sleep, alright?"

"Okay." Callie laid there in Arizona's arms feeling much more at ease than outside on the couch. She soon felt Arizona's breathing even, meaning she was asleep. She glanced up to look at the beautiful blonde before her and smiled at how enchanting she truly was. She dropped her head back down into the crook of Arizona's neck, finally closed her eyes, and whispered out, "I love you, Arizona."

Arizona smiled as she heard the words come from Callie's lips and settled herself down to fall asleep when one last thought crossed her mind. _Caitlin…_ And with that thought, her eyes immediately popped open once again. _Oh God, what am I doing?..._

**Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews. I swear, you guys are the sweetest people ever! **

**I'm sorry for having that mini break over the holiday, but I hope that you all enjoyed your holidays, wherever you may be and whatever you may have celebrated.**

**And I hope the wait wasn't too bad either and that this chapter was worth it. Let me know what you think? Por favor?**

**Proof again that I truly only know how to write at night. Well...morning. I think I deserve to go to sleep now, yes? **


	6. Chapter 6

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 6

[_Flashback_]

"These were left outside the door…..again," Arizona's roommate, Miranda Bailey, grumbled as she brought in the seventh bouquet of flowers in as many days. "And another 'I'm sorry' card was taped on the door. She's persistent, Arizona. So she's either a crazy, creepy stalker girl, or she's really sorry and cares a lot about you."

"Aww, Bailey…"

"And coming back to all these flowers and 'I'm sorry, I'm stupid' cards are driving me insane. Now go get your stuff figured out, you dang fool."

"And now the moment's gone."

"You're being ridiculous, Robbins. So she was a little freaked out. I would be too if some overly perky blonde was trying to get in my pants."

"Hey, watch with the insults. You'd be lucky if I even just planted one on you."

"You're so full of yourself!"

"No, I'm just hot and I know it. Besides, everyone loves a blonde-haired, blue-eyed all-American girl from the South," Arizona joked in a playful manner, throwing in a wink for some added effect.

"Especially this one here who keeps bringing by flowers and cards." Arizona stopped her giggling and was silent once Bailey mentioned Callie. "Why are you fighting her so hard? I can tell that she isn't just one of your flings or one night stands because they wouldn't have affected you like this. So what's got you so hung up? Was she that good in bed?" Bailey teased.

"I never slept with her, actually. So thank you very much, Bailey!" Arizona countered.

Bailey looked at her rather shocked. "Is that so? This one must be special then."

Arizona groaned, "I'm so torn, Bailey. You're right about her though, she is special. I think that I might have developed feelings for her." Bailey's silence indicated she was waiting for Arizona to elaborate. "I don't want her to be just a fun tumble in the sheets, you know? I actually want to sit down and get to know her over dinner. I want to go dancing, see movies, walk through parks, and all those other typical date-like stuff with her. I want her to meet and hang out with my friends. I want to introduce her to my family!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, tiger. How long have you known this girl?"

Arizona embarrassedly looked down at her feet, a slow blush creeping up her cheeks. "I met her at the end-of-the-year party." Bailey's jaw dropped in surprise and was about to say something when Arizona quickly interrupted her. "I know that it hasn't been that long, but there are some things that you just know. And I know that she makes my heart beat faster whenever I'm around her. I know that I feel all warm inside when her hand is intertwined in mine. I know that when she looks deep into my eyes, I feel like she can see my soul. And I know that sounds really lame, but it's like when I first saw her, I was automatically drawn in. I just… I feel like I belong when she's by my side. Call me crazy. Call me a perky blonde who's a hopeless romantic, but Calliope makes me feel something that I haven't ever felt for anyone else before."

"Calliope? Like _Callie Torres_, Calliope?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot people call her Callie," Arizona half-laughed.

"Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Callie is a great girl though. Very dedicated to making it through and proving herself. And she isn't hard on the eyes. I can see why you'd go after her." Bailey snickered.

"You're impossible! I thought I just told you that I'm starting to get emotionally attached to her."

"Okay, well if you're actually starting to _like her,_ like her, then why are you avoiding her? She's said that she's sorry. I've heard that she even tried knocking on the door a couple times from some of the girls in the hall to apologize to you. She wants to talk to you, Robbins. You should give her a chance."

"But that's what scares me! I'm scared to give her a chance because that only leads to me getting my heart broken. I've done just fine the past three years here not getting romantically involved with anyone and then one girl, one amazing, wonderful, extraordinarily beautiful girl catches my eye and I am at her mercy. I feel like I'm allowing myself to be vulnerable with her and it frustrates me that I feel so strongly for her already. I am avoiding her because I feel like it's the only way I can control my emotions right now. I pretty much already forgave her the moment I heard her voice again a week ago. That's just how I am with her. I melt immediately and I just want to be in charge of something. Because I sure as Hell am not in control of my feelings. So I just- I need-" Arizona started breaking down and crumbled to the ground.

Bailey quickly rushed to Arizona's side and pulled her in close. Hey, shh…don't cry. It's okay, Arizona. It's okay. Don't cry. Everything will be alright." She repeated soothing words of comfort while Arizona cried out her bottled up emotions. When she seemed to calm down, Bailey pulled Arizona up, making her sit up straight and wiped away her last remaining stray tears. "Just for the record, this didn't happen. I am still _The Nazi Bailey_."

Arizona smiled at Bailey's humor. "Of course, Bailey. Of course. My lips are sealed."

"Glad we understand each other. Now how about you go and make up with your girl?" Arizona's smile widened as she nodded her agreement to Bailey's suggestion.

* * *

"God, I really am stupid, Addie. I finally find an amazing person who seems genuine and who I have some pretty strong feelings for and I go and hurt her before I could even tell her how she makes me feel. I've been trying to do these sweet gestures like leaving flowers and 'I'm sorry' cards telling her what an idiot I am. I even showed up at her door a few times to try to talk to her. But she doesn't want anything to do with me. I feel like the damage is done and I'm trying to fix something that doesn't want fixing."

"Well if she doesn't want fixing, Callie, then why are you trying to fix her?"

"Because I hurt her, Addison! I want her to know how sorry I am and for her to see it in my eyes that I'm sincere. She thinks that I'm trying to play games with her feelings and that's the furthest thing from the truth. I need her to know that she wasn't just some experiment for me; that I wasn't just curious what it would be like to kiss a girl and then realize that it wasn't for me. I want to tell her that-" Callie was interrupted by a knock on her door. She walked over to the door and was surprised to see who was standing behind it. "Arizona…" It came out as a whisper.

"Hi," Arizona said shyly. "Can we talk?"

"Umm…sure. Of course, yeah." Callie barely got out, still a little stunned to see Arizona at her doorstep. "Would you like to come in or go somewhere else to talk or-"

"Right here is fine."

"Oh, uhh, okay. Come on in then."

"Addison. I wasn't expecting you here."

"Hi, Arizona. Sorry, I was just on my way out." Addison said quickly making her way out the door. "It was nice seeing you again!"

"Bye!" Silence. "So…"

"I'm sorry." They both blurted out at the same time. They looked up at each other and started laughing.

"What are you sorry for?" Callie asked. "I am the only one who should be apologizing here. I mean, I was the one who ran away scared and didn't call or explain or anything like that."

"Yeah, that may be true, but you still tried to talk to me eventually and I brushed you off. I didn't even allow you to really talk to me. I let my anger and my hurt get the best of me and I didn't give you a chance to tell me what was going on through your head. I get it. I kissed you and it was out of line. So-"

"Please don't be sorry for kissing me."

"You mean you don't regret it?"

"Not for a second."

"Then why did you run?"

"I… You scare me…"

"I scare you? I can assure you, Calliope, that I am not a scary person."

"You're anything but, Arizona. It's just… I haven't been able to get you out of my head since we met at that party. I always want to be around you, talking to you, laughing with you, making you smile, holding you hand, and it's just all happening way too fast. I've never felt like this towards anyone I've ever met in my life and especially not so soon after meeting them. This past week I've been so terrified that I blew it and that I would never see you again. That I would never see your golden blonde hair, your beautiful, dimpled smile, your incredible sapphire eyes, or hear your soothing voice. I hardly know you, but I know enough to know that you're special. I know enough to know that I want you and I want this, whatever this is, because I have a feeling that you'll be worth it. And call me crazy or naïve or whatever else you can think of, but I want this with you. I want another chance."

Arizona was speechless for a moment, taking in Callie's words and letting them settle in her mind. Callie's confession was a lot to take in, but she smiled a genuine, heart-warming smile at Callie, which eased some of the built up tension in her body. "Yes," was all she answered with.

"Yes?" Callie questioned, unsure if she heard right.

"Yes, yes! Calliope, yes! I came down here to tell you that I can't stop thinking about you either and that I keep replaying our time together and shaking my head at myself for being so dumb. Because I accept your apology 100% and it was cruel of me to make you worry like that for a week. To tell you the truth, I had pretty much already forgiven you when you tried talking to me a week ago. So yes, I say yes to you, to us, to whatever this is."

Callie didn't know how to express her happiness in words and decided to let her actions speak for her by closing the gap between her and Arizona and pressing another breathtaking kiss upon Arizona's lips.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Callie awoke the next morning to find that she was alone in the bed and that the spot where Arizona should have occupied was empty and cold. She grabbed a sweater that was hanging off the back of the door and pulled it on as she walked out into the kitchen in search of Arizona. She found her sitting at the breakfast bar holding a cup of coffee and looking deep in thought. "Hey, there you are. Good morning." Callie chimed, breaking Arizona out of her daze.

"Good morning, Calliope. Did you sleep well?" Arizona nervously smiled.

"The best sleep I've gotten in a really long time. I forgot how good it felt to sleep in a real bed next to something warm," Callie laughed, but she stopped when she saw that Arizona wasn't exactly laughing with her. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Do I not look okay?"

"No, you look perfect. I just thought-never mind. So what are you doing out here all by your lonesome?"

"I was just thinking about some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Oh you know, just some stuff. I was also thinking about making some breakfast, but then I remembered that I still burn eggs and so I just made some coffee instead."

"Ha, so I see that still hasn't changed. Let me take care of the breakfast then. You just keep supplying me with coffee and we'll be even."

"Calliope, you don't have to go through all that trouble just to-"

"Arizona, it would be the least I can do. You have been taking such good care of me that this is just a start for how I can repay you. Would it be too much to expect that you went grocery shopping between now and the last time I was here?" Arizona's blush was all the confirmation Callie needed. "Well then, how about we go shopping for some decent food at that little shop down the street and allow you to have a real breakfast for once?"

"That sounds fantastic."

"Great. Now go get dressed. I still want to get back the hospital to stay with my father some time today." Callie smiled as Arizona nodded and retreated back to her bedroom to change. Arizona emerged soon after and they were off to the shop.

* * *

They returned about forty minutes later after goofing around for a majority of their shopping trip, making them take longer than it should. Callie set aside the food she'd need to cook a full breakfast while Arizona put away the others that weren't needed at the time but were bought anyways because they were "necessities", according to Callie. "Now, watch and learn how the master does it." Callie joked while getting comfortable in Arizona's kitchen.

By the time she was done, Callie had made waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, and cut up some fresh fruits for the ultimate complete breakfast. "Mmm…" Arizona couldn't contain her delighted moan. "Calliope, this is absolutely delicious."

"Glad to know I still have that special touch," Callie smiled, taking a bite of her own breakfast.

_In so many ways,_ Arizona couldn't help thinking to herself. "Glad to see that you're still your confident self," Arizona smiled back.

They shared a light conversation over breakfast and before they knew it, it was already approaching ten o'clock. "I should really get going," Callie said as she cleared away her dishes. "Never know when daddy could wake up and I don't want him to be alone and think I left him there."

"No, no. Of course. You go ahead. I'll take care of this."

"Thank you," Callie said as she walked past Arizona, giving her a kiss on the cheek on the way to the bathroom. Arizona stood frozen in her place for a bit, hand up to her face, tracing over the spot where her skin was tingling after Callie brushed her lips against it. She smiled to herself slightly before shaking herself out of it and continued cleaning up. Not too long after, Callie came back out, dressed and ready to go. "So do you have work today?"

"Yeah, but not for a couple hours though. I have to take care of a couple things before I go in, so I'll see you later?" _Things like think about what I'm doing and what I'm doing to Caitlin and figure out if I can handle being around you so much and cuddling in my bed or having breakfast with you._

"Oh, okay. I'll see you later then. Thank you so much again for letting me crash here last night."

"Don't mention it, really. I was glad to have you over," Arizona flashed her a smile to reassure the ever worrying brunette.

"Still. Not many people would do that for me. Especially considering-"

"Well, I'm not like many people. So you're lucky there."

"No. You are most certainly not. Lucky me," Callie agreed, smiling at Arizona and pulling her in for a hug. "Catch you later." With one last kiss to Arizona's forehead, she grabbed her bag and was out the door.

* * *

Once Callie shut the door, Arizona trudged over to the couch and collapsed onto it, letting out a pained sigh as she did. _What have I gotten myself into? _She thought. _I can't be around Calliope like this for very much longer without doing something stupid. I need to remember that she's only going to be here until what's going on with her dad is situated, and then she's right back to San Francisco and into George's arms. She's still married and I am not a home wrecker. And neither is Calliope. She knows that I'm in a committed relationship with Caitlin and she respects it. I just need to make it through the next couple weeks and I'll be okay. She'll be there and I'll be here and everything will be back to normal. _Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and she got up to answer it.

"Calliope, did you forget something- Caitlin! Hey, what are you doing here?" Arizona asked quizzically.

"Arizona, can we talk?"

**Happy New Year everyone! What a better way to start the new year off than with an update from me, right? Haha, I'm just kidding of course. =P**

**Sorry this one took a while. I've been spending a lot of time with family and my new puppy and talking a lot to this special someone who just makes my heart smile. =]**

**And I've gotten a new story idea in my head that I've been trying to suppress so I could focus on this story. Coming up: In the flashback, you'll see more of their relationship and the beginning of what destroyed it. In the present time, a talk with Caitlin as Arizona struggles to figure out her feelings. I'm trying to make Caitlin a likable girl! Why does she seem to have a lot of haters out there? =O**

**As always, a huge thank you to those who offered their opinion on this story and I hope you continue to do so. I love and appreciate each and every one of you!**


	7. Chapter 7

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 7

[_Flashback_]

The rest of the summer couldn't have been any better for the happy couple. They spent as much time as they could together and it was rare for anyone to see one without the other. Their relationship was the epitome of a summer romance. So many nights were spent on cute romantic dates that often bled into the morning or quiet evenings in where they wrapped themselves so closely together it was hard to determine where one ended and the other began.

It was the last day of summer break and Callie and Arizona decided on spending the night in and just savoring this moment of true peace before having to return to the chaos of classes and studying. Arizona was lying in Callie's arms subconsciously tracing random circles along Callie's skin as they were settling down for bed. "Calliope?" Arizona whispered out against Callie's neck.

"Hmm?"

"What's going to happen after tomorrow?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you think we'll be able to make it? Prove that we're not just a summer romance kind of thing?"

Callie propped herself up to look Arizona in the eyes. She could see the concern and fear in those eyes that she always found herself getting lost in. But there was something else mixed in with the fear and the concern, and that was the love she knew Arizona felt for her. "Of course I do. No one has ever made me as happy as you make me," Callie answered while brushing away stray strands of hair away from Arizona's face.

"Good. Just wanted to make sure that it wasn't just me feeling all these crazy things over here."

Callie chuckled a little at how adorable Arizona was being. "No. You are most certainly not, Arizona. Now go to sleep if you want any chance of being functional tomorrow."

Arizona merely nodded her response before settling back into Callie's arms and snuggling close to her. They were both silent for a while, dancing around the edge of unconsciousness, before Arizona broke the silence again. "Calliope?"

"Hmm?" Was her sleepy reply.

"I love you."

Callie's eyes popped open and she turned to look at the blonde laying in her arms. "You do?" she asked softly.

Arizona smiled shyly at Callie, "I do."

Callie took a deep breath and let it out shakily as tears were already forming in her eyes. "I love you, too."

* * *

"So you and Arizona seem to be getting along pretty great."

"Yeah… We are, aren't we?" Callie responded in what could be best described as a dreamy way.

"How are you planning on telling your parents?" Callie's dreamy look quickly vanished from her face. Addison looked at her skeptically. "You _are_ going to tell your parents, aren't you? Have them meet Arizona over the break when you visit during the holiday like you two discussed? Callie!"

"What? I just… I just need some time." Addison stared at her in disbelief. "Oh please don't give me that look, Addie. I'm not ready to tell them, okay? Not yet anyways. They're going to freak out for sure if I tell them."

"If? Come on, Callie. What the hell are you doing here? Do you love her?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Addie. Of course I love her! More than I've ever loved anyone else in my life. She completes me. And don't laugh! I don't care if that's corny and cliché, but she completes me. And I've loved her ever since I first locked eyes with her."

"Then be fair to her, Callie. Be fair to her."

* * *

"So how are things with Ms. Badass Torres?"

"Oh my gosh, Teddy. It's been amazing. She is seriously the greatest person I've ever met."

"Hey! I take some offense to that."

"Ha, I'm sorry, Teddy. You are an amazing person too of course! But since she is my girlfriend and the love of my life, I am obligated to put her as number one," Arizona answered with the biggest grin on her face, dimples showing full force.

"You are so cheesy, Arizona Robbins. But I understand. Love of your life, eh?"

"Yes, my new Canadian friend," Arizona joked. "The love of my life. I love her, Teddy. I really do. Everything about her. My world just seems to stop when I'm with her. It's like, I know that she is the one person who could single-handedly destroy me, but I trust her not to do that. I'm so vulnerable letting myself feel this strongly for her after only one summer together, but she makes me feel alive. All these years in med school and all I've been doing is walking around to get by. But she, my amazing Calliope, has made me open up my eyes and live."

Teddy merely shook her head and smiled at her love-struck friend. "That good?"

"That good. I can't wait until winter break so I can take her home to meet my family."

"Wow, that serious already that you want to take her home to meet the folks?"

"Yeah, Teddy. I want her to be the first and last girl I bring home." Arizona's smile never left her face as they continued walking to class.

* * *

Arizona looked over again to see that her girlfriend still had a death grip on the steering wheel and was fidgeting in her seat. "Calliope, will you calm down please? If you get any more tense over there you might just break the steering wheel or get us into an accident with how fidgety you are over there. We're just going to spend a few days with your family. No big deal, right? Things went perfectly when you met my parents, so everything will be fine, okay?"

_Yeah, except that your family knows you're gay and have been dating a woman for the past six months while my parents have been completely in the dark and will probably freak out if I tell them. _"I'm sorry, Arizona. I always get a little nervous around my parents. It's the respect and intimidation thing. Plus, I'm sure my family will love you. They'd be crazy not to." Callie flashed Arizona a smile before turning her attention back to the road, hoping Arizona will just let it go. They were quiet for a while until they drove up to the driveway of Callie's childhood home. "One last thing, can we tone down the PDA and affection around my family? They're still extremely traditional and conservative, so we'll have to ease our relationship onto them, alright?" _Please buy that, please buy that…_

"I understand. This must have been a difficult thing for them to accept with your background and everything. Hey, I thought you said we were meeting them for dinner at your house?"

"This is my house." Callie responded rather confused.

"What? No, Calliope. _This _is not a house! My house in North Carolina, _that_ is a house. This! This is like a hotel! You never told me you lived in a hotel, Calliope!"

"Arizona, calm down, it's not that big a deal."

"Calliope! You're like a millionaire, and you never even bothered to tell me."

"No, my parents are millionaires. I am just a girl who is trying to make it through med school and who recently fell in love with the most amazing person in the universe, alright? Now please, stop freaking out, okay? I never mentioned it because I never felt that it was relevant or important to our relationship. The only things that matter are me and you. My money is just a safety net really. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I'm still the same person, money or no money. I'm still _your_ Calliope." Callie smiled a reassuring smile at Arizona hoping that it would calm her nerves.

"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just in a little bit of shock right now. But everything you just said is true. Money is just money and you're still my Calliope." Arizona perked up. "Now how about we get in there and meet your parents, yeah?"

* * *

The dinner went smoothly with Arizona striking up easy conversation with Callie's family filling the table with laughter and embarrassing stories about Callie as a child. As Callie wished, Arizona made sure to keep her affectionate gestures to a minimum and stuck to mostly loving and lingering glances at Callie when she thought no one was looking. Hours later, dinner, desserts, and drinks were finished as everyone started settling in for the evening. "Thank you so much for having me over and for the wonderful dinner."

"It's no problem at all. We're glad to have you over," Carlos answered. "You have been great company, Arizona. I'm glad that Calliope has such a wonderful friend to look out for her over there in LA since she is so far away from her family here in Miami."

_Friend?_ Arizona felt a need to correct him, but chose to just bypass it as a simple mistake when she noticed Callie slightly tense up. "I'm lucky to have her as well, sir. I've definitely become a better person and have been a lot happier since I met her."

"That's good to hear. Now you two can run along upstairs. Calliope would be glad to show you the guest bedroom that has been set up for you."

Now it was Arizona's turn to tense up and she was about to question Carlos when Callie suddenly interrupted. "There's no need for that, daddy. Arizona can stay in my room with me. We stay over in each other's rooms all the time at school, so if that's okay with you…"

"If that's what you'd like. We just figured she'd like the extra space, but if you're both okay with that, then I see no problem with it." Carlos stood up to leave shortly after. "Goodnight. See you both in the morning."

"Goodnight, daddy. Goodnight, mama."

"Goodnight, Mr. Torres. Goodnight, Mrs. Torres."

"See, not so bad, right?" Arizona said as she was getting settled in Callie's old bedroom.

"Yeah, everything went much better than I expected. You and daddy seemed to get along pretty great."

"It's because parents love me and can't resist my charms."

"Well, parents aren't the only ones," Callie said quietly, walking closer to Arizona and wrapping her arms around her middle once she got to her. "Because I know I definitely can't resist you," she whispered against Arizona's neck, tickling the exposed skin there and slowly teasing Arizona's stomach with her fingers.

"Calliope…" Arizona whined. "No fair… You have no idea how much you affect me with just the smallest things…"

"Hmm, things like this?" Callie asked, peppering kisses all around Arizona's shoulders and neck. "Because if that's what you mean, then I might have a slight idea."

Arizona savored the feeling of Callie's lips on her skin before realizing that if they didn't stop now, then she definitely couldn't in just a few minutes more. "Calliope, you better stop right now before something happens."

"And if I want something to happen?"

"Calliope! No sex in your parents' house while they are here!"

"You're no fun." Callie pouted.

"Oh, don't give me that. I'm going to go shower now so we can get to bed."

"You don't have to shower to get to bed… Or better yet, how about I join you in this shower of yours?" Callie asked suggestively. But when Arizona gave her a stern look, she reluctantly relented. "Okay fine… I'll behave."

"Thank you." Arizona grabbed a towel and her pajamas and headed to the bathroom after a quick peck on Callie's lips.

Callie was still in a bit of a daze when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out. "Oh hey, Aria. What's up?"

"I think I could ask you the same question, Callie. What's up with you and Arizona?"

"What do you mean?"

Aria let out a sigh. "I mean, are you and Arizona together. As in, are you two a couple, dating, in a relationship?"

Callie froze. "I… Umm…" _Oh God, please help me…_

_

* * *

_

[_Present Time_]

"Sure, of course we can. Will it take long though? Because I have a shift in a couple of hours." Caitlin shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously and looked around the apartment, pretty much anywhere except for Arizona. It was from her silence that Arizona actually took in Caitlin's appearance and noticed the eye bags under Caitlin's eyes and that she looked physically exhausted, as if from a restless night. "Caitlin, are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine. How's Callie?" Caitlin countered, still not looking at Arizona.

"Umm, she's fine. She just left a bit ago to go back to her father at the hospital."

"I see. So she slept on the couch last night?"

Arizona was starting to get confused as to why Caitlin would randomly show up at her door and then start talking about Callie. "Well, I made up the couch for her, but some time during the night, she got frightened being out there all by herself so she slept in my room the rest of the night."

"So she slept in your room last night. In your bed?"

"Well, I wouldn't make her sleep on the floor, so yeah. She slept up in my bed with me."

"Oh…"

"Caitlin, what's going on? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know, I just… Should I be worried, Arizona?" Caitlin asked, finally looking up at Arizona.

"Worried about what?" Arizona asked even though she already knew the answer.

"You and Callie."

_Oh no…_ "Why should you be worried?"

"Oh come on, Arizona. Don't play games with me, okay? Just tell me, do I have anything to be worried about with you and Callie? I mean, I trust you. I really do. It's just that there's only so much trust you can place in someone when an old friend of theirs, a really beautiful, hot, female friend from the past that you've never heard of before suddenly shows up and starts spending a lot of time with your girlfriend. I understand that you're just trying to be a good friend, and I'm not mad at all about that. I'm happy that you're being so supportive of her right now in a time of need, but it just worries me a little, you know? Her staying here with you, in your apartment, all by yourselves, in your room, in your bed. It's just a little unsettling, you know? So just tell me, do I have anything to be worried about?"

_Yes._ "Caitlin, Callie is just a friend, alright? And you're my girlfriend. I'm sorry if I've been absent or distant lately and that's what is bringing this up in your head, but Callie's just a friend." _Please be a good enough answer, please be a good enough answer…_

Caitlin flashed a slight smile, "Okay. I'm sorry I bombarded you here without calling first. I was just freaking out a little and couldn't get my stupid insecurities out of my head last night and had trouble sleeping. So I had to come talk to you to ease my thoughts and everything. So thank you for doing that and have a good day at work. Say hi to Callie if you see her around later. I love you. And I'm sorry for ever doubting you." Caitlin said, wrapping Arizona in a quick hug and kissing her before turning around and leaving.

Arizona just stood there in place, speechless and not really know what to do. _Oh my God_. _I can't believe I just lied to her…_

_

* * *

_

"Mark, this is a disaster!" Arizona exclaimed while pacing around the on-call room she paged Mark Sloan into.

"You know, Robbins, I was hoping that this page to an on-call room meant that you'd finally give the Sloan method a chance here. Not have me act as a chick for you."

"Mark! I'm trying to be serious here."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. But what's a disaster?"

"Calliope! Having her here in Seattle."

"What's so bad about that? I thought you'd be happy to have her here. Especially since now you two are kind of talking and okay after that whole George thing."

"That's the problem though. I am happy to see her again and have her here. But that's the thing. I'm a little _too_ happy to have her here. It's almost like things never changed and she just came back and our lives went back to how it was. Except, it can't be how it was because she chose George and left me and moved to San Francisco with him and I stayed here and am with Caitlin now."

"So what? She'll be gone once Derek fixes up her old man and she'll be right back to San Francisco."

"That's what I've been telling myself to shut off my feelings, but they're still there, Mark. And they just won't go away. The worst part is, is that this is starting to affect Caitlin and I can see that she's worried about having Callie around me so much. I wish that I could just stay away from Callie and avoid her at all costs so it'd be easier to deal with having her here, but I can't seem to do that. It's like I gravitate towards her even though I know that it'll only cause me pain. Maybe I've become a masochist, Mark. Maybe I enjoy putting myself through all this pain."

"Don't be ridiculous, Robbins. Once Callie's dad gets all better, you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"But we don't know how long that'll be. He could get better today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, I don't know, never? Not knowing how long is killing me. And it hurts knowing that Carlos is fighting for his life too because I've known him for a while and I know how much he means to Calliope. So seeing her so hurt over all of this makes me even weaker to her. I just don't know what to do, Mark. Obviously getting involved with her would be so unbelievably stupid and hurt so many people, but what about me? What about how I feel?"

"I think you should focus on the things that you do have and the here and now. Don't think about what happened before. Don't think about what might happen in the future. Think about what's going on right now. Doesn't Caitlin know that Callie's in town?"

"Of course she knows Callie's in town. They even met, briefly."

"Does she know who Callie is? Like your history and what she meant to you?"

"Umm… Not exactly…"

"Arizona! Caitlin deserves to know at least that. She's a great person and she's been good for you. After Callie left, I wasn't sure you'd be able to pull it together, but you did and it was because of her. The least you could do is tell her the truth and not leave her in the dark."

"I know, Mark. I'm just scared. What do I do?"

"Do you love her?"

"Who?"

"Caitlin."

"Of course I do."

"But the question is, can you and do you love her more than Callie?" Arizona stood there in silence after Mark's simple, straight-forward question. "And I guess there's your answer."

**Writer's block is an evil thing, my friends. But thankfully, after a good, intense workout session at the gym, I was able to sit down and focus and pop this chapter out for you. =D**

**I feel like I'm writing two separate stories sometimes, don't you think?**

**OH MY GOSH at tonight's/last night's episode! Arizona was so incredibly cute! I won't spoil anything for anyone here, but if you haven't watched it, you should! It was amazing, and totally worth the month long hiatus. I need to find more friends who watch Grey's so they can freak out with me! D=**

**Tell me what you thought? Whether it's about this chapter, the episode, or both, I'll deeply appreciate it and maybe even respond back to you. =]**


	8. Chapter 8

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 8

[_Flashback_]

"Callie?..."

"I, uhh," she stammered then cleared her throat. "How did you- What makes you think that there's something going on?"

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Well, other than you being totally flustered when I asked you, your eyes gave it all away. It was actually pretty hilarious; you two thought you were being discreet, but your eyes said everything I needed to know. I've never seen you look at anyone in the way that you look at Arizona. It was just so full of love and adoration; it was so beautiful. Don't let her go, Callie. She's one amazing girl."

"Wait, so you're telling me that you're okay with this? Me and her?"

"I'm not going to lie, I wasn't at first when I realized it at dinner, but as the night moved on, I saw how happy she made you and I couldn't think it was wrong anymore after I could see how it was so right. She makes you happy, Callie. I haven't seen you this happy in so long. You're smiling again and your eyes are all bright and twinkling. I don't really know her that well, but if she was able to get you out of your funk, then I know that she's something special. But what are you planning to do about-"

"I don't want to think about that right now, Aria. I mean, just like you said, I'm finally happy. Nothing has ever felt so right to me as being with Arizona. When I'm with her, problems in "the real world" just don't exist because everything is perfect when I'm with her. God Aria, what am I going to do?"

"I think you should talk to Mom and Dad."

"Ha, and say what? Hey, Mom and Dad, so Arizona isn't really just a friend, but she's my girlfriend and I love her. And I will spend the rest of my life loving her and nobody else, no matter how much you might not like it or try to fight it."

"Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good start to me."

"_Dios mio_, Aria! Mom and Dad will kill me if I say that to them. You know how they feel about this and how set they are about how they fixed up my future."

"You need to talk to them, Callie," she paused. "Do you love her?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I love her!"

"Then you should talk to Mom and Dad. Because I'm pretty sure Arizona won't be happy being your dirty little secret and if she's as great as I think she is, then I know that she won't tolerate it for much longer. You're lucky she's fine with being kept a secret right now even." Silence. "Oh, please don't tell me- Does she know that you haven't told Mom and Dad?" Another silence. "Callie!"

"Stop with the guilt trip, Aria! I'm trying my best here, alright? I didn't tell Mom and Dad yet because I needed them to meet Arizona and get to know her as Arizona, and not the girl that is stealing their baby girl away and turning her into something they raised her to be against her whole life. Arizona's amazing and she obviously won them over tonight so I consider that to be a victory for me and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't ruin that for me right now. Okay, Aria? Please?"

Aria sighed and threw her hands up in the air, "Fine. You win this time, but you need to talk to Mom and Dad soon. Before everything gets out and you end up losing everyone."

"Even you?"

"Never me, Callie. You're my sister and I'll always love and be here for you."

Callie walked over to her sister and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "You're the greatest sister ever."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go talk to them before it's too late."

* * *

For the next couple of days, Callie kept searching for the right moment to tell both her parents and Arizona what she needed to say to the both of them, but that moment never seemed to present itself to her. She stood by and watched as Arizona kept charming her parents and saw them fall in love with her. It pained her though, having to pretend to be just friends with Arizona and having to repeatedly push her away when Arizona started to get a little too affectionate for her paranoid mind to function. She couldn't bring herself to ruin Arizona's happiness at getting along with her parents so well and she couldn't destroy her parents' view of Arizona after they had taken such a liking to her after only a couple days. So she stayed quiet and just hoped that things will continue to go smoothly and she can leave Miami without having any disasters happen. "Well, we'd better head out now if we want to make it back in time for classes tomorrow." Callie said as everyone was gathered by the doorway of the Torres residence to see Callie and Arizona out.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here with you and your family, Mr. Torres. It has been an honor to finally meet you."

"Don't mention it, Arizona. It was a pleasure having you over. It puts me at ease to know that my daughter is in good hands over there in Los Angeles. Can I trust that you'll keep her safe?"

"Of course, Mr. Torres. I love your daughter. I'll make sure to protect her because I was raised to protect the things I love," Arizona answered with a bright grin plastered on her face.

"Good. Glad to hear it, Arizona. Now, off you two go before you miss your flight! I expect to see the both of you back here very soon, you hear me?"

"Yes, Daddy. We'll be back soon, I promise. I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Callie and Arizona said their goodbyes to Callie's parents and headed to the airport with Callie still feeling terrible about not telling Arizona nor her parents the truth.

* * *

The rest of the school year flew by for the two with Callie managing to keep her promise and go back to visit her family in Miami a couple times with Arizona since the holiday break. She still couldn't bring herself to tell the truth because she could see how Arizona interacted with her family and she didn't want to be the one to destroy that blossoming relationship. Her father wasn't one to take to people easily, but she could see how her father had taken an immediate liking to Arizona and she couldn't help but smile at seeing the two of them together talking, laughing, and bonding. So she let it go on. She let her father think that Arizona was just a really close friend he could trust to watch over her daughter and she let Arizona think that her family knew about their relationship, but out of respect for them, still wanted to keep the PDA at a minimum. She knew she was digging herself a hole that kept getting deeper by the second, but she couldn't figure out a way to break the news and not ruin how everything was going perfectly. So she, stupidly, decided to keep her mouth shut and just hoped that the truth wouldn't come out for the time being.

Now, it was nearing the end of the year meaning Arizona would be graduating soon and starting her internship while Callie still had two more years in med school remaining for her. "So, have you decided what hospital you wanted to do your residency at?" Callie asked one night when they decided to settle on a night in and just relax with all the hype and chaos surrounding them with finals and graduation.

"I have a few offers that I'm actually considering. It's just so hard to choose because there are so many great hospitals out there, you know? But I'm really liking how Seattle Grace is looking right now. They're a great teaching hospital and I feel like I could learn a lot there. Plus, Seattle is a beautiful city. I love the green trees and the fresh air. It'll be a nice change after spending four years here in LA."

Callie pouted slightly at Arizona's response. "Seattle is so far…"

Arizona felt a pain pang her heart. "I know, but we have to think about the long run. I can't stay here if I want to learn everything I possibly can to be the best doctor I can be. Seattle Grace is an amazing opportunity and I'm so thankful that I was able to get in there. I know that being apart will be hard, but I think we can do this, you know? I know that it won't be easy, but this can only make us stronger, right? You could follow me up there for your residency as well and we can be together again as soon as you graduate. Plus, if I've got a two year head start on you, that means I should be a resident once you get there and I could maybe get you to be one of my interns!" Arizona exclaimed excitedly.

"And have you boss me around all day? No thank you!" Callie joked back.

"You're not seeing what I'm trying to say here, Calliope. Think about it for a moment." Arizona paused and watched as realization hit Callie. "There you go," she chuckled and threw in a wink.

"Why _Dr. Robbins_, what a dirty mind you've got there," Callie gasped in mock shock, pulling herself on top of Arizona, lips hovering millimeters away from Arizona's.

"Is that so? You plan on doing anything about it?" Arizona barely got out, hardly able to concentrate having Callie so close to her.

"Mmm… Guess we'll have to see then, won't we?" Callie smirked before leaning down to capture Arizona's lips in a sizzling kiss that lead to Arizona proving that her mind wasn't the only thing that was dirty.

* * *

Today was the day. After four grueling years, Arizona had finally made it. Today was she graduating from med school and becoming a doctor. Her parents, and of course Callie, were there in attendance as well as Teddy and Addison who had graduated the year before her. "There's my baby girl! I'm so proud of you!" Arizona's father, Colonel Daniel Robbins, cheered as he wrapped Arizona up in a big bear hug.

"Thank you so much for making it," Arizona squealed in her dad's arms.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"Oh hey! There's our girl!" A voice came from behind Arizona.

Arizona unwrapped herself from her father's hug and turned in the direction of the voice, surprised to see Callie's family there as well. "Mr. Torres! What are you doing here?"

"Well, Callie mentioned that today was your graduation and we wanted to be here to congratulate you as well, _mija_. We're so proud of you!" Carlos reached out and wrapped Arizona up in another hug.

"Aww, well I'm so glad that you guys are here too! What a wonderful surprise. The best graduation gift ever!" Arizona nearly jumping up and down in excitement. "Dad, this is Carlos, Calliope's dad, Mr. Torres, this is my father, Daniel."

"Ah, Mr. Robbins. Pleasure to meet the father of this fine young lady here."

"Please, call me Daniel. And it's a pleasure to finally meet you as well. Arizona is always talking non-stop about how great you all are over in Miami. It makes me wonder sometimes if she loves you more than us!" Colonel Robbins bellowed.

"Don't be silly, Daddy." Arizona joined in the playful banter. However, she stopped when she glanced over at Callie to see that she'd had noticeably paled. "Calliope, are you okay?"

Arizona moved her eyes to follow where Callie had been staring and saw a man with brown hair and green eyes approach them. "Ah, perfect timing." Mr. Torres interrupted. "Arizona, I'd like you to meet George."

_George?_ Arizona thought. "First of all, congratulations on your graduation, Arizona," George smiled sweetly at Arizona, extending his hand out for a handshake. "I'm George O'Malley. Callie's fiancée."

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Callie hadn't seen Arizona all day and she was starting to worry that her staying over the night before had freaked her out and now the blonde was avoiding her. She searched around the hospital to no avail causing her anxiety to only go up. She spotted Mark in the cafeteria and approached him, hoping he'd seen Arizona that day. "Hey, Torres!"

"Hey, Mark. How are you?"

"Great actually. How about you? Things looking better for your dad?"

"Derek says we can't be too sure until he wakes up from his damn coma. I swear, sitting in there all day with him lying there on the brink of death is just so stressful. I don't know how people do this."

"Aww, I'm so sorry, Callie. Is there anything I can do?"

"Umm, actually, I was wondering if you've seen Arizona. I'd really like to talk to her. I haven't seen her all day."

"Yeah. Just talked to her in fact. I left her in On-Call Room 3, but she said she was thinking about going up to the roof for some fresh air, so she might be up there."

"Thanks, Mark. You're the best!"

"Don't I know it," he laughed.

* * *

Callie made her way over to On-Call Room 3 to see that it was empty, and so she made her way to the roof. There was something about the roof that was so calming that she understood why Arizona would be up here. Not only was it mostly away from the drama of the rest of the hospital, but it was also a prime place to think in peace. She looked around and saw the familiar blonde curls over in the corner, except the sight made Callie's heart drop. Arizona had her face in her knees and her shoulders were visibly shaking, indicating that she was crying. Callie immediately rushed over to Arizona's side and wrapped her up in her arms. At first, she felt Arizona's body tense, but she must have realized it was Callie who had her arms around her so she quickly relaxed into Callie's embrace. "Hey, what's going on? Why are you up here crying? Did you lose a patient or something?" Callie asked knowing how emotional Arizona got when she lost a patient.

"No, nothing like that. I was just…thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"It's not important. Don't worry about it," Arizona attempted to shrug Callie off.

"Well if it's not all that important, why are you up here on the roof by yourself crying?"

"It's gotten me a little torn on the inside, that's all."

"Arizona… I'm trying to help you here. But I can't do that if you won't give me a little bit to work with."

Arizona took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drag you into my personal problems."

"Arizona, don't be ridiculous. Since when did you have to apologize for your personal problems? I'm here for you. You know you can talk to me. So talk, please? I want to be able to help you."

"I just don't know what to do, Calliope."

"Do about what?"

"I've got myself in a sticky situation."

"Care to explain?"

"Not really, but if I give you a general overview, will that be okay for now?"

"For now."

"Okay… So I don't know what to do. There's this thing and there's people involved and it seems like no matter what I do, someone is always going to get hurt. If I do what I want to do, then someone who is amazing in every single way will get hurt and the last thing I want to do is hurt them, because I'm not sure if I've ever met someone as kind and generous as them. But if I do what is "right", what I should do, then I feel like I'll be hurting myself by making a sacrifice and giving up what I want by not hurting this great person I was talking about before. It shouldn't hurt this much. I should be strong enough to control myself and just do what's right and eventually I'll be happy with that. But I can't shut that voice in the back of my head. I just…I don't know what to do, Calliope. I don't know what to do."

Arizona collapsed further into Callie's arms as Callie just held her while she cried. "Shh… It's okay, Arizona. Everything will be okay." _I hope._

_

* * *

_

After consoling Arizona up on the rooftop, Callie was back in her father's room when Arizona had to go in for surgery. A knock sounded from the door and Callie turned around to see Caitlin standing there with a bouquet of flowers and a _Get Well_ balloon in her hands. "Hi, Callie. I'm so sorry to barge in on you like this. I hope you don't mind that I asked Mark where I could find you. I wanted to see how you were and to leave these for your father," Caitlin said, handing what she was holding out to Callie.

"Wow, that is so thoughtful of you, Caitlin. Thank you so much. My father will love them."

"You're welcome. So how is he? Anything changed? Is he getting better?"

"So far, nothing has really changed. We're still waiting and hoping he'll wake up soon."

"I'm sure that he will."

Callie nodded. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but is there any particular reason why you came over?"

"Well, I first wanted to see how your father was doing and give you those gifts for him. But yeah, I actually would like to talk to you about something."

"Well, grab a chair if you'd like. We can talk here."

"Okay, thanks." Caitlin pulled up a chair and sat in it, looking nervously over at Callie.

"So what'd you want to talk about?"

"I didn't know who you were at first."

"I'm sorry?" Callie asked in confusion.

"That first night you brought Arizona home late and she wasn't answering her phone calls or anything. That night when you first came back to Seattle, I didn't know who you were. Arizona and I tried staying away from talking about past exes and so I didn't really know who you were. For all I knew, you were just a friend, as Arizona had told me. And I had every reason to trust her too. Arizona's not a cheater nor is she a liar, so I had full faith in her. It wasn't until some people started joking around, asking me how I felt about having the girl who broke Arizona's heart come waltzing back into her life after a couple years that I started to worry a little." Caitlin paused, looking over at Callie trying to read her expression. "So you were the girl."

"Pardon me?" Callie asked when Caitlin didn't continue for a bit.

"You were the girl that left Arizona so broken when I met her."

"I don't think I quite know what you mean."

"When I met Arizona, she was a mess. She was hooking up and drinking herself to death. I'd seen her at Joe's a couple times, always leaving completely wasted with a different girl on her arm, and I couldn't bear to see it anymore. I had to step in and do something about it. I couldn't just stand by and watch her destroy herself anymore. All I knew was that she was heartbroken because a girl she loved left her and got married. I didn't push her for any details, I didn't have to. I just picked her up and made her stop with the drinking and stop with the random hook ups. She was better than that and I had to make her see that she was worth more than she was giving herself credit for. It wasn't easy, but slowly Arizona was back to normal and we started getting to know each other. She tried pushing me away a few times, but I wouldn't let her just throw me away. She needed me, she needed someone to be on her side and so I wouldn't allow her to just toss me aside. After a while, we slowly started getting to know each other and go out on a few dates. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with her, but you know as well as anyone else out there how easy it is to fall in love with someone like her. I didn't plan on it and did I ever try to fight it, but there are just some things you can't help. I love her, Callie." Callie's heart broke hearing Caitlin's heartfelt pleas. "I love her and I don't want to see her hurt again. You've only been back for a couple of weeks, but I can already see how much this has affected Arizona. I know that she loves me. I know she does, but I also know that it's not in the same way she loves you. She'll never love anyone in the way that she loves you. When you left, you broke her. I struggled to put her back together, but there will always be a part of her that's missing. A part of her that I can never have because you will always have it."

"You really are a great girl, Caitlin and I appreciate you coming in here and-"

"Please, just let me finish. I need to get this all out now because I don't think I can do it again."

Callie slowly nodded her head. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"Arizona is an amazing woman. I've never met anyone like her before in my life. The only thing I want for her is to be happy. I want her to have happiness and joy and love. And I know that I can give her all those things. But the happiness, joy, and love that I can give her, is nothing like what you can give her. It's just… With you being married and everything, it complicates things. You're not available and you're only up to hurt her even more. But I've noticed a change in her since you've been here. She's still in love with you, Callie. You being here is turning her world upside down. She's starting to break down and her inner turmoil is eating her up. I know it. I also know that she'd never act upon what she's feeling with you because of me. I know that Arizona is a good person and she would never cheat on me. But I can't hold her back, you know?" Caitlin's words were coming out a lot slower now as she was battling back tears and sobs. "I love her too much to do that. But I just have to know, what are your intentions with her? You being back has affected her so much, you've had to have realized that. You need to talk to her. You can't build her hopes up by not having your husband around here and stuff. You need to make a choice about what you want. You need to figure it out, and figure it out soon because Arizona is so close to cracking, I can feel it. She's torn up inside and I don't want her to go through any more pain. I can't just stand back and watch it happen all over again."

Callie sat there in silence for a while in complete shock at everything Caitlin had said to her. She expected an angry confrontation after Caitlin realized who she really was since Arizona had told her she was "just a friend" when they met, so imagine her surprise when Caitlin delivered this heartwarming and breaking speech. She could see the love Caitlin had for Arizona and she could see how much she respected her and just genuinely wanted the best for her. She could also see that she was in pain having to even have this talk with Callie because she could see how badly Caitlin was breaking inside having to admit knowing that the woman she loved was in love with someone else. "Caitlin… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything to me, Callie. I get it, Arizona is an amazing woman. It's hard _not _to be in love with her. I just wish that she loved me too."

"But she does love you, Caitlin."

"No, no she doesn't, Callie. Not in the way that she loves you."

**Ooh, dang, And you guys are Caitlin haters? How can you hate her after that? What is Callie going to do after that speech? What is Arizona going to do about her inner battles? Will she choose what she wants to do or what she should do? I'd like to hear your guesses! Shout out to my reviewer from the last chapter who called the confrontation happening. =] **

**I hope you saw last night's episode! We have heard the rumors for weeks, but I had still hope d the rumors weren't true. That last scene truly broke my heart. Can I have someone to console me while I cry out my bitch baby tears? (Please tell me you know that reference!)**

**Thanks so much for all of you who read and reviewed last chapter! If you noticed, I sent each of you a message back, and I'll be planning to do that from now on. I never know what a simple thank you can do! I appreciate each and every single one of you who took the time to give me your opinion. You guys are the best. I also enjoyed getting to talk to some of you to get to know my readers better. That made me happy as well. Anyways, I'm open to hearing what your thoughts are of both this super long chapter and of the heartbreaking episode! /endsuperlongauthor'snote**

**~Rox**


	9. Chapter 9

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 9

[_Flashback_]

To say Arizona was surprised would be an understatement. "Oh, so you're _Callie's fiancée_? It's really nice to meet you, George. Thanks for making the trip out here," Arizona took George's outstretched hand and shook it.

"It's an honor to be here and meet you, Arizona. Carlos has told me a lot about you and I'm glad Callie's found a great friend in you."

Arizona only smiled and nodded in response. Her mind was reeling as she glanced at Callie who still hadn't regained her color nor uttered a single word since George approached the group. He walked up to Callie, wrapped her up in his arms, and kissed her. The sight of George kissing Callie literally made Arizona sick to her stomach and it took all of her willpower not to throw up. She quickly excused herself, using the cover of wanting to say hello to some friends for a moment, and nearly ran to a tree off in the distance, making sure she was out of sight before breaking down.

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her chest was constricting, her vision blurring, and her world spinning. Teddy and Addison saw Arizona running off from the corner of their eyes and excused themselves from the group they were talking with to follow their friend. As they approached the tree she ran behind, they heard the faint sound of Arizona's sniffles. "Arizona?" Teddy called out.

"Is that you?" Addison followed. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, hey guys. Yeah, I'm great. I just need a little bit of time to myself because this whole graduation thing is still pretty surreal and overwhelming, you know?"

"Doesn't sound like it, Arizona. Are you sure you're alright? Maybe we should go get Callie or something?" Addison suggested.

"No!" Arizona blurt out. "I mean, you don't have to do that. I wouldn't want to pull her away from her family and special _friend_ over there. I'll be okay. But thanks guys, I appreciate you coming over here to check on me."

Arizona didn't notice the two slowly make their way around the tree and couldn't turn around in time to hide her red, puffy eyes from her friends. "Arizona!" Teddy exclaimed in complete shock. "What happened to you?"

"Don't worry about it, Teddy."

"Don't worry about it? How can you expect me to do that, Arizona? How can you tell me not to care about you when there's something wrong on _your_ day? You should be happy right now; ecstatic; smiling; relieved. Not crying by yourself behind a tree."

Arizona knew that Teddy meant well and was only trying to be a good friend, but having her bring up that she's out behind a tree crying and feeling her heart break on _her_ graduation day only fueled her anger. "I said I was fine, Teddy. Just let me be."

"But Arizona-"

"Just go!" Arizona yelled out, her body now shaking from all the emotions coursing through her mind.

"Come on, Teddy," Addison said, grabbing onto Teddy's elbow to lead her away. "Let's give Arizona some time to herself."

Teddy hesitated for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay, but if you need me, you know how to reach me."

* * *

Callie watched Arizona run off and disappear out in the distance. Every part of her longed to run after her, but for some reason, her muscles wouldn't allow her to. So she was stuck, standing there with her family and George's arm draped around her shoulders, staring out to where the love of her life ran off to, and avoiding the eyes of the Robbins family. The look on Arizona's family on added to her guilt as she saw the confusion and betrayal etched across their faces. The Colonel cleared his throat, "If you'll excuse us, we'll go check up on Arizona. Thanks again for flying all the way out here; I'm sure that Arizona really did appreciate it."

They turned around to leave and that's when Callie could finally get her muscles to allow her to move. She brushed George's arm off from around her and rushed up to the Colonel. "Wait! I'll go with you."

"I think you've done enough, Callie."

"No! Please, let me explain!"

"I don't think there's anything to say. You should go back to your _fiancée_ now and let us attend to our daughter."

"Give me a chance to-"

"Goodbye, Callie."

* * *

Later that night, Callie locked herself up in her room of the giant suite her parents booked for their trip out for the graduation. She had tried calling Arizona several times and leaving numerous voicemails and text messages, all left unanswered by Arizona. She even tried swinging by their apartment, but she was intercepted by the Colonel who simply handed her a duffle bag of clothes to last at least through the weekend and told her to give Arizona some space. The minute she got back to her parents' suite, she shut herself out from her family and George and just cried out all her pain, guilt, frustrations, anger, and disgust in the comfort of the silent solitude within those four walls. She closed the curtains and allowed the darkness to engulf her as she allowed for her emotions to take over her body. She felt pain for not being able to be near and comfort Arizona. She felt guilt for not telling Arizona about George and their _engagement_. She felt frustration for being shut out and kept away from Arizona and not being able to talk to her and explain. She felt anger and disgust that the way Arizona had to find out was by George introducing himself to her and then proceeding to be all over Callie. She hated that everything was thrown upon Arizona on her graduation day of all days and she desperately wanted a chance to right all those wrongs. But she couldn't even get within yelling range of her without her family guarding her away. This was all her fault and she knew it. She just wished there was something she could do about it instead of feeling so worthless. A knock at the door followed by it being cracked open broke Callie away from her personal black bubble of self-loathing as she looked up to see her father in the doorway. "Not now, Papá. _Por favor_, just let me be alone."

Carlos Torres sighed deeply as he walked in and shut the door behind him and slowly made his way over to Callie's bedside. "I've been doing that for the past couple hours now, _mija_. I let you skip dinner with your mother and me, I let you scream at George and kick him out of your room, I let you sit in here and cry without any questions. But now I want some answers, Calliope. I need to know what's going on with you because I'm your father and I love you too much to just let you sit in here and cry all weekend. Now tell me what's wrong."

"You wouldn't understand, Daddy. And even if you did, you would frown upon me and be angry and I don't want any more people that I care about to be mad at me right now. I don't want to disappoint you too, Daddy."

"You need to give me at least a chance to understand what's going on before dismissing me off, Calliope. You have to give me more credit than that. Now, I have a feeling that you're so upset because of something that happened with Arizona. And if that's the case, there's no need to beat yourself up so bad. You two have been friends for a while now. I'm sure that once you two talk and sort out whatever it is you are having this misunderstanding about, everything will be fine again."

"That's the problem though, Daddy. I don't think that she'll ever want to talk to me again."

"What? That's absurd. You two were just fine earlier this morning and then all of a sudden she doesn't want to speak with you anymore? I didn't even see anything significant happen that would cause her mood to change. She just ran off and never came back. What is going on, Calliope?"

Callie took in a deep breath." It's because she met George."

"So? Is there something wrong with George? Did they know each other before and have a falling out?"

"Stop! You need to let me explain, okay? Don't try coming up with your own conclusions right now because I can guarantee that you won't get it right." Callie paused to take another deep breath as she fought back another fresh batch of tears. "Arizona didn't have a problem with George, per se. It was more like she had a problem with him being my 'fiancée'," Callie paused once again as realization slowly flashed across Carlos' face. "I've been lying to you, Daddy. I've been lying to you all this time because Arizona isn't just my best friend. She is the love of my life. The person who holds my heart in the palm of their hands. She's my _one_. My _only_. I know that you'll probably say that I'm too young to know what love is or that I'm confused, but I'm not, Daddy. She's the greatest person I've ever met. She makes me so happy and I've never seen anyone as beautiful as her, inside and out. She-"

"Enough!"

"But Daddy-"

"I said enough, Calliope. I don't want to hear another word about this secret relationship you've had with Arizona and about how much you love her. You know you have an honor and promise to fulfill to this family and the O'Malley's. So whatever it is you have with Arizona has got to stop, and it's got to stop now. Do you understand? It's over." Callie opened her mouth to protest, but Carlos quickly interrupted her. "I mean it, Calliope. I will not have you dishonor and embarrass this family. You had your college fun with Arizona, but now it's time to face the real world. You are marrying George, and that is final."

Carlos got up to leave, furthering cementing Callie's future, and all Callie could do was sit there and start crying once more.

* * *

Her crying finally subsided. But what replaced all the tears and sobs scared Arizona's parents even more. She cried until she could cry no more and then was, what seemed like, stunned into silence. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, and she wouldn't utter a single word to her mother or father who tried getting her out of her funk. Her face was pale, hair lackluster, and eyes dull. It was as if her mind and soul was gone and all that was left was this lifeless body. She was numb. She couldn't feel the enormous pain in her heart or the sting in her eyes or the exhaustion in her body. And so she sat there, motionless, blocking out the rest of the world.

Her parents were at a loss. Nothing they did was helping their daughter in the slightest bit. They had kept Callie away thinking that her presence would only worsen Arizona's pain. But now they were reconsidering their decision because their daughter had become a zombie. Now an emotionless blank stare after hours of pain-filled, exasperated cries and sobs. She didn't say anything about Callie or George, just cried. Desperate times called for desperate measures and they asked Callie to come over since they couldn't take another moment more of helplessly watching their daughter fade more into oblivion.

They weren't sure what would happen when Callie came over since she was the reason that Arizona was in her current state in the first place, but they also knew that Callie would be the only person who had a chance at making Arizona happy again. Callie was over in a matter of minutes after their phone call and they could see that she wasn't in much of a better condition herself. "She's in her room," Colonel Robbins stated void, of any emotion.

Callie merely nodded and made her way over to the bedroom. Even though the apartment was technically _theirs_ and she was heading into _their_ bedroom, she couldn't help but feel like an unwanted stranger, an intruder, in her own home. She knocked on the door, but received no response, not that she expected any. So she cautiously opened the door, quickly and quietly slipped inside, and noticed Arizona's small figure huddle on a chair with her back turned, looking out the window. "Arizona?" she called out softly.

Arizona flinched at hearing the familiar voice she loved, but didn't give much else in terms of a reaction. She didn't yell at her to leave or turn around and throw something at her, so Callie continued to make her way into the room and closer to Arizona. "Arizona?" Callie called out again, still not getting a reaction. "Baby, can you at least acknowledge that I exist?"

"Callie." Arizona said curtly.

"Okay, I deserve that." Pause. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, _so_ incredibly sorry, Arizona. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. You weren't supposed to find out this way."

"Oh really? And in what way was I supposed to find out? Were you thinking about telling me on your wedding day and saying, 'So I think we have to break up cause I'm getting married today.' I mean, honestly, Callie, how were you planning on telling me that you are engaged?"

"I didn't plan this, okay? I didn't plan any of this. This whole George thing was a business engagement for my family. My father and his father have been good business buddies for years and when they set us up, both of our families rejoiced in how 'great of an idea' it was. I didn't have the strength to stand up for what I wanted and when George proposed, I couldn't say no. My father would have been so disappointed in me and I know that my family would have looked down on me. All my life, I've let my family dictate how I lived my life. But going across the country to LA for medical school and meeting you taught me how happy I can be if I did what **I** wanted and not what I was told to do. I love you, Arizona. And I'm so sorry about this whole George fiasco. I never wanted you to find out like this, but I could never find the right time to tell you. I don't want to be with him at all because you're the one who holds my heart. You are everything to me. I even forgot all about him until he showed up today. I'm so crazy about you that sometimes I forget about the rest of the world when I'm with you. You have to believe me, Arizona. Because I could never love anyone in the way that I love you."

Arizona took a few minutes to take in everything Callie said and thought for a minute about how she was going to reply. "Well, it's simple then. Break off the engagement with George and tell your parents about us. I'm not going to lie, Callie, I'm hurt. Really hurt that you lied to me all this time and that your parents didn't even know the truth about us because I trusted you. Right now, I don't even know what to think. Just go break off the engagement and sort things out with your family first and then we'll talk." Silence. "Callie?"

"I, umm- I can't do that, Arizona."

"I'm sorry, I think I must be hearing things. What did you say?"

Callie took a deep breath, "I can't do that. I can't break off the engagement. I already told my dad about you and me, the truth about our relationship, but I can't break it off. I know that I changed a lot since I've been out here in LA, but I'm still a Torres. And I have a promise I need to uphold with both my family and the O'Malley's."

Arizona stared at Callie with her jaw dropped. "You're kidding me, right? A promise with your family and the O'Malley's?" Arizona's voice rose in anger. "What about the promises you made me? What was that speech you just said earlier? When you told me you loved me, that's a promise, Callie. When you wake up in the morning with your arms wrapped around me, that's a promise. When you hold me close, look me in the eyes, and kiss me, those are all promises, Callie."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Get out." Arizona interrupted, her tone filled with ice.

"Arizona-"

"I said get out. Now."

"No…no! Please...please, I can… We can- We can do this. We can figure this out."

"I don't have anything else to say to you. I refuse to be the dirty little secret and since you are technically engaged, regardless of whether or not you actually acknowledge it, I refuse to continue to help you cheat on your fiancée. Now you've made your decision here quite clear to me, Callie. So I will make it easier for the both of us and end this now before it gets any worse. I'll pack up my things and be out of here by next week so you don't have to worry about the apartment or anything. Goodbye, Callie."

With that, Arizona led Callie out of their bedroom and before Callie could turn back around to protest, slammed the door in her face. Callie stood there, staring at the door in utter disbelief at what just happened. _No, this can't be real. This can't be happening. This has to be a dream. There's no way that we're…over… _She slid down against the door and felt the impact of what just happened hit her full force, causing yet another round of tears to stream down her face.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Caitlin quickly ran out of Carlos Torres' room to avoid breaking down in front of Callie. She almost didn't make it as the tears started falling down her face when she turned around to leave and sped walked her way to the exit. In her haste, she passed by several of the hospital staff that greeted her and barely mumbled a "hi" back before rushing past. She kept her head down to avoid making eye contact with anyone, so she didn't see Mark before running right into him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mark. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'll see you later, yeah?" Caitlin tried to hurriedly say, hoping to brush off Mark before he could get a good look at her.

"Whoa, hold on there, speed racer. You didn't think you could get away from me that quickly, did you? Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Mark asked, trying to catch Caitlin's eyes. "Come on, Thomas. It can't be _that_ painful to look at me," Mark joked, but immediately turned serious when he saw Caitlin's eyes and the stray tears making their way down her face. "Catie, what happened?" Mark's tone caring and sincere.

"Oh, it's nothing, Mark. I'm fine. Just a lot of things are running through my mind and it gets to be a little too much, you know?"

"Well if you wanted to talk about it, we can go grab a coffee or something. It might help to let out what you're thinking."

"Why look at you being the sweet, sensitive man! I kind of like this look on you, Mark. It's very endearing. But I'll have to pass on this one. I appreciate you being here for me, but I'll be okay. I have to go, but I'll see you around, okay?" Caitlin said, adding a smile before leaning in to give Mark a quick hug, hoping it was enough for him to let it go.

"Alright, fine. That'll do for now, but you WILL talk to me next time, okay Catie? And watch who you tell about what just happened here. I don't need people thinking I've gone soft or something. I am Mark Sloan after all!"

"Yeah, yeah, Mark. We all know you're a total softie! Bye!" Caitlin turned around and made her way out of Mark Sloan's presence as fast as she could. _Please don't run into anyone else,_ Caitlin begged as she boarded the elevator, feeling a moment of relief knowing she'd be able to get out of the hospital soon.

Her heart dropped, however, when she heard an all too familiar voice call out, "Hold the door!"

* * *

Today was proving to be a long day for Arizona. It was tiring having to muster up the energy to entertain the tiny humans. She couldn't believe that she actually broke down in Callie's arms that morning and was developing a headache from all the thoughts swimming around in her head. She was at a loss for what to do. _How did I manage_ _to get myself stuck with having to pick between two of the most incredible women in the world_? Arizona thought. _I can't keep doing this to both myself and Caitlin. I need to stay strong. I won't ever stop loving Calliope, but she's still married to George and I can't have her. If I can just keep myself together for just a bit longer… _"Hold the door!" Arizona called out. "Thanks," she said once slipping inside. But she was shocked to find a disheveled Caitlin standing against the wall looking back at her. "Caitlin! What are you doing here? Oh my gosh, are you okay? Are you here to see a doctor? Why didn't you tell me? I could have-"

"Arizona, calm down. I'm alright. I didn't have an appointment or anything. Don't worry, you would have been paged right away if I were admitted for anything," Caitlin smiled back reassuringly. "Now come here, you look like you could use a hug."

Arizona fell into Caitlin's embrace and couldn't help but feel a flood of guilt flow through her body as Caitlin's arms wrapped around her and rubbed slowly up and down her back. "Thanks babe, I really needed that."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

_I'm still madly in love with Calliope and every day that she's here I feel my resolve threaten to crumble whenever she's around me._ "Oh, it's nothing." _I'm struggling to stay strong and remain faithful to you, but it keeps getting harder and I don't know what to do anymore. _"I'm just a little stressed out about Carlos. We're all hoping for him to pull through this coma, but it's getting scarier with each passing day. I need him to make it through for Callie's sake, you know? She'll be absolutely devastated if she loses him." _I don't know what to do. The right thing to do would be to stay with you and just wait it out regarding Calliope, but everything just feels so wrong and… _

"Yeah, I came by to see her and her father today. I brought by some 'get well' stuff and had a little chat with her. She's an amazing girl." _I can see why you're still in love with her._

"Oh? What'd you two talk about?" _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. This cannot be happening. This is a disaster! _

"Nothing much. Just made a little small talk about how he's doing and I wished them both the best." _That, and how much you're still in love with her._ The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Well, I have to go, but I'll see you later, okay? Call me so we can have dinner or something; if Callie's feeling better, that is." She leaned over and gave Arizona a quick kiss before rushing out of the elevator and made her way out of the hospital before Arizona could stop her.

* * *

Callie paced around the room, occasionally glancing over at what Caitlin brought for her father. Every time she chanced a glance at the presents, she felt another stab in her heart. _I can't do this, _she thought. _I can't do this to Caitlin. I can't come waltzing back here and destroying everything that they've built together. I don't have that right! I can't do this, I can't- _Her phone buzzed, breaking her train of thought. She checked it to see that she received a text from Arizona. "_Hey, thanks for being there for me earlier. Think we can hang out for a bit after my shift?"_

_ "Of course we can. What do you have in mind?"_

_ "Nothing big. I was thinking a park day at our bench to just wind down after all the craziness from today."_

_ "Okay, sounds good to me. Do you want to meet in the lobby or up here in my dad's room?"_

_ "I'll meet you there around 5."_

_ "Sounds good. I'll see you then. Have a great day saving those tiny humans!"_

_ "Will do. Thanks Calliope. =]"_

_

* * *

_

Callie smiled putting away her phone thinking about the upcoming afternoon with Arizona. That smile was quickly wiped off her face though when she thought back to her talk with Caitlin just a few minutes ago. _What am I going to do?..._

The next few hours seemed like forever while it also couldn't have come faster for the duo. They were both apprehensive and excited about being with each other again. It was kind of reminiscent to the times they were dating back in med school where they were both trying to sort their feelings out. Arizona stopped by Carlos' room around 5, as promised, and they both made their way over to the park. The walk was spent in a silence that was filled with contemplating their feelings and what they were going to do. Fifteen or so minutes later they were atop of the hill and sitting down on their bench, shoulders touching, as was routine for the two. They sat for a while, neither wanting to break the silence. "So…how was your day?"

"It was alright. Had a couple surgeries and all of my kids made it through, so I consider that an accomplishment for the day. Something that was weird, however, was that I saw Caitlin in the elevator as she was leaving the hospital. She said that she stopped by your father's room to deliver some 'get well soon' stuff and talked to you a little."

Callie's eyes nearly bugged out of her head when Arizona mentioned Caitlin talking to her. "Yeah, she did. I was surprised to see her today, but it was a sweet thing she did today. Did she tell you what we talked about?"

"No, not really. I guess she was in a rush or something because I didn't get much out of her. I know you don't really know her all that well, but did she seem a little weird to you? She looked really distracted or something when I ran into her."

"Umm, no. She seemed fine. What a lovely girl though. She doesn't even know me all that well and she was kind enough to come in and check on me. She's definitely a keeper," Callie joked and winked over at Arizona.

Even though she knew Callie was joking around, her breath caught when she winked at her. "Yeah, she's an awesome person."

Another silence settled over them when Arizona didn't offer more to say after that. _It's now or never_, Callie thought. _You've been thinking about this all day. Just do it! "_Uhh, can I ask you something, Arizona?"

"Of course, Calliope. You can ask me anything. Shoot."

Callie took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Are you happy? With Caitlin, I mean. Does she make you happy?"

Arizona's heart stopped, knowing what Callie was asking. However, she didn't want to jump to conclusions, so just played along. "Of course I'm happy with her. She's a great girlfriend after all and we have a lot of fun together and-"

"That's not what I meant, Arizona."

"Then what do you mean, Calliope?"

_Am I really going to ask this?_ "I mean, do you love her?"

"We've been together for a while now and she's been nothing but great for me."

"You're not answering my question."

Arizona paused for a moment, not sure how to proceed with this conservation. "I don't want to answer your question," she said, barely louder than a whisper.

"Why not?" Callie asked, turning her body around to face Arizona and putting her arm out on the bench in front of her, along Arizona's back.

Arizona shivered at the contact and could feel Callie's eyes boring into her. She took in a shaky breath before answering. "Because I'm scared of the answer."

Callie decided to continue cautiously, not wanting to push Arizona too far, too fast. "Why? It's a simple yes or no question."

"But there's nothing simple about it."

"Can I ask you something else?" Arizona nodded, still keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, avoiding Callie's eyes. "Will you please look at me?" Callie could see the confliction in Arizona's face before she turned her head and their eyes locked. There, she could see the answer to her question before she even asked it. "Do you still love me?" Callie searched Arizona's eyes, looking for an indication to stop as she felt herself getting closer to her face. She couldn't help herself as she pressed her lips to Arizona's and pulled her close to her body, losing all sense of control she had over herself as she lost herself in Arizona and her kiss.

**I'm baaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry I was gone for so long! I took a longer hiatus than Grey's did. Shame on me, really. Life has a way of sucking up all your time and so I haven't found a lot of time to write and plus I had some writer's block issues and blahblahblah… Point is, I'm back and finally updated, yay! I will make no more excuses as to why I was gone forever, but feel free to yell at me for making you wait! Ahaha.**

**Thanks so much for the amazing feedback I got from the last chapter! It made me smile to see that so many of you are actually liking this story! Let's take a vote shall we? All in favor of not leaving Rox a review? –Cricket chirps- All in favor of making Rox's day and leaving her something to wake up to? *Raises hand enthusiastically* Ah, looks like the yay's have it. Oh, and for special measure, I'm throwing in my extra special vagina vote. Now, you don't want to mess with that, do you? =D**


	10. Chapter 10

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 10

[_Flashback_]

Callie sat there, slumped against the door of her bedroom that she'd been kicked out of mere minutes ago, and just stayed still. She had expected Arizona to yell at her and she expected her to be furious, but she also expected them to talk things through and sort some stuff out. She never expected Arizona to kick her out of her own room. Arizona's parents heard her outburst at Callie from where they were in the living room. Not really knowing what to do, yet not wanting another moment of the eerie quiet of the apartment filled with only the tale tell sniffles of brokenhearted tears, Daniel Robbins got up off the couch and made his way over to Callie. He reached his hand out to her which Callie tentatively grabbed and pulled herself up. "She really loves you, you know. She wouldn't be this upset and broken down about it if she didn't. Just give her some time to cool down and have some space to think. It'll do the both of you some good."

"But I can't leave. I need to talk to her and explain. I need to tell her that I love her and only her. I need her to listen to me and understand that this whole situation is just out of my hands."

"And you can do all of that in a couple of days. Arizona is a really passionate person, but that also makes her pretty stubborn and irrational when she gets really emotional. Trust me, if you try talking to her, it'll just go in one ear and right out the other and nothing will get solved. I know that you love her, Callie. I can see the way you two look at each other and I know that this is something serious for the both of you and that it isn't just a college fling. But you crowding her will only make things worse, you understand?"

Callie let out a pained sigh, hiccupping as a sign of all her crying. "Yeah, I understand. I'll give her a couple days to cool off. Thank you for calling me and I'm so sorry for causing all this mess. I really didn't mean to hurt your daughter and I hate myself for it. I love her more than anything else in the world."

"I know, Callie. I hope you can work it out with Arizona."

"Me too, Colonel Robbins. Me too."

* * *

Callie did as she promised and gave Arizona a few days to blow off steam. When Callie finally built up the nerve to go back to their apartment, she found herself at a loss; does she knock or does she use her key to go in? She and Arizona hadn't spoken in days since Callie was thrown out of her bedroom and she feared the blonde's reaction to seeing her again. Would she still be mad? Would she yell at her again? Kick her out again? Were the few days apart enough time for Arizona? She didn't want to further upset her if Arizona wasn't ready to talk yet, but the fact of the matter was, Callie missed her. She missed her and she wanted to get things sorted out as soon as possible so that they could figure out where to go from there. She decided to play it safe and knocked on the door. She stood there straining to hear a response; Arizona's voice or the sound of feet scuffling across the floor, anything. Instead, there was silence. "Arizona?" Callie called out, knocking again. "Look, I know that you're probably still mad at me, and you have every right to be, but I just want to talk. Can we do that please? Can we talk?" She knocked again. "Hello? Arizona?" Knocks again. "Arizona…please?" Callie pleaded. After some more unanswered knocks, Callie decided to pull out her keys and open the door herself. _Maybe she's out right now or something_, she thought.

She looks around the apartment and sees that everything looks pretty much the same. "Arizona?" she calls out again. She continues to slowly make her way through the apartment, checking all the rooms for any sign of the blonde. Finally she is standing before the door of their room. She is once again stuck on what to do, but decides to go on since she was already that far. Their room, like the rest of the apartment, seemed to be completely intact as well, but Callie took in some differences. She sees that one of her pillows is missing on the bed as well as some stuff on the dresser she and Arizona shared. She didn't piece together what was going on until she glanced over at the closet that had been left open. _No no no! _raced through Callie's mind. She ran over to the dresser and frantically started pulling out Arizona's drawers. _Empty. Empty. Empty. Empty_. A sharp pain shot to Callie's heart as she realized what happened. All of her belongings, other than a pillow, throw blanket, and her favorite hoodie sweater she liked wearing on days in, were all where they left while seemingly all of Arizona's things were packed up and cleared out.

* * *

Arizona sat on a couch facing out toward the window taking in her new surroundings. The sun wasn't as bright as it is in Los Angeles, but the trees were so green and the crisp, fresh air felt rejuvenating to both her skin and lungs. It was a change of pace, a change in scenery that she so desperately wanted after everything fell apart and her life was a disaster in LA. She picked up and left on a whim; she gathered all her clothes and belongings, packed everything into a few suitcases, and left, making sure to never look back, knowing she'd run back and change her mind if she did.

Being there a bit earlier than scheduled for her internship, Arizona didn't exactly have a place to stay. So here she was, sitting in a lonely hotel room, wondering how everything seemed to flip on its side right before her. _If only I stuck to my plan_, Arizona thought. _If only I kept up my no-strings attached/no relationships rule and didn't get involved with anyone and just stuck to the emotionless, random hookups… NO! _she scolded at herself. She hated feeling this pain, she hated being so alone and broken. But she could never wish not taking a chance with Callie and continuing the way she had been. She could never take back the love that they shared and the amazing feelings that Callie made her feel. Even if it left her in pieces right now, meeting and falling in love with Calliope Torres was the best thing that ever happened to her. Because of her, Arizona had finally known what it truly meant to love someone with everything she had and be happy. She looked at a photograph of her and Callie where she was nuzzled into Callie's side. _No,_ she thought, _I will never regret her._

She got up and made her way over to her computer to start searching for a decent apartment. This was a new city with new people, a new job, new house, and new beginning. _A new life_.

* * *

"I really screwed up big this time, Aria." Callie cried into the phone with her sister. " I mean, I know that she was obviously really hurt by all of this and I didn't expect forgiveness or anything, but for her to just pack up all her stuff and leave? She must seriously hate me to leave without a trace like that."

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Of course I have. Like a million times! But she still isn't picking up or returning any phone calls. I even tried calling her parents but they won't say a word. They won't tell me if she went home with them or if she went away on vacation or anything. Arizona, the woman I am so in love with, is somewhere in a lot of pain and filled with anger towards me and I can't do anything about it because I don't know if we're still in the same town, state, hell, even country for that matter. I just miss her, Aria. I miss her and I love her so much and I hate that she left on such horrible terms."

"This is what happens when you hide the truth, Callie. I know that you had good intentions and never wanted to hurt Arizona, but you did by lying to her for all this time. I'm not going to pull out the 'I told you so' card because you don't deserve that. I know that you're hurting and I know that you're sorry. But me knowing that doesn't mean anything. You need to fight, Cal. You need to find her and make her listen to you. You can't let her push you away again and run. You can't let her get away because I can see how in love with her you are and that kind of love the two of you share is rare and most people would be lucky to even have a taste of it. So now you have to think. I mean, do you at least know where she might be headed?"

Callie sat there and contemplated for a moment, which proved to be quite difficult when trying to hold back tears and concentrate at the same time, before it hit her. "You know what, Aria? I think I may have an idea…"

* * *

Time had become a blur to Arizona. The weeks leading up to the start of her internship had been slow, filled with lonely nights and struggles to push away painful memories, but once she got to work, the days just seemed to pass by. Often times she'd throw herself into work and push herself to keep going into a state of utter exhaustion before finally stopping to collapse and sleep before getting up to do it all over again. She worked herself to death because it helped her deal. When she was working, she had to focus and didn't have time to dwell over the past and a lost love. There were a couple nights where she was forced to go home after exceeding her allowed hours at the hospital and it gave her time to think. But she hated to think. She would stare at her phone screen at Callie's number, thinking about calling her, so many times, but no matter what, she wouldn't let herself do it. She had to move on. Callie was in LA and she was up here in Seattle and that was that. Some of the other interns had invited her out a couple times, but she politely declined, not wanting to go crazy and indulge in her pain then later doing something stupid that she'd regret the next morning.

A couple months in and Arizona was the intern to watch. She was quick on her feet, had good instincts, knew the answers to every question thrown her way, logged in hundreds of hours in the research library and skills lab, and proved to be able to hold her own in an OR. Residents and Attendings alike were all impressed at this promising young star on the rise and loved her as a person as well as a doctor. She wasn't treated as a lowly intern like most experienced, but was respected by all.

Today, Arizona was especially excited because it was the day of the annual visit by the medical school students. Even though she knew that she wouldn't personally be having a med school student shadow her, she was still excited to hopefully inspire these University of Washington kids to keep working hard and push through the rough patches she remembered herself having from med school. "Good morning!" She cheerfully exclaimed to her Attending for that day, Derek Shepherd, as she met up with him at the nurse's station.

"Good morning to you too, Doctor Robbins. What's got you so excited today?"

"The med school kids are coming in today!"

"It's not as great as you're making it seem to be, you know."

"How could you say that, Dr. Shepherd? I think it's amazing that this hospital lets these kids come in here and shadow an actual doctor for a day so that they can get a taste of what they're getting into."

"I love your attitude, Dr. Robbins. How about you tag along with me today so that my lucky med student gets the benefit of having _two_ great doctors to shadow today?"

Arizona beamed, "That would be awesome! Thank you so much!"

"Ha, don't thank me yet. Just wait until they get here… Which would be right now. Hey Chief."

"Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Robbins. I already assigned the other students to the other residents and attendings and they already took their students and took off, but I'd like you to meet yours. She's a transfer and so she's not actually a first year like the others so maybe you can show her some pretty cool neuro stuff in the OR today. I think she can handle it. Anyways, Derek, Arizona, I'd like you to meet Callie Torres."

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Arizona had wondered for years what it would be like to feel Callie's lips melded with hers once again. But not under these circumstances. She felt herself involuntarily pull away from Callie before she could respond back to her kiss and looked up to see a sea of emotions in Callie's deep brown eyes, the most prevalent being confusion and hurt. She reached up to place a hand against Callie's face, brushing her thumb along Callie's cheek, and watched the brunette's face visibly relax and lean into her touch, closing her eyes to savor the intimate moment. "Calliope…I can't…" Arizona barely got out, her voice filled with pain.

"I know…"

"But I can't stop."

"Me neither."

A comfortable silence settled over the two as they tried to sort out everything that was racing through their minds. "So what happens now? Where do we go from here?"

"You're still with Caitlin…"

"And you're still with George." Arizona was struggling to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She averted her eyes to find the courage to continue on. "Why is something that is supposed to feel wrong, feel so right?"

Callie smiled softly and reached over to take Arizona's right hand with her left, leading it over to and placing it on her heart. "Because this," she paused, allowing Arizona to feel her thundering heart, "can never be wrong. Loving someone this much and feeling all these incredible things in the span of a few weeks in comparison to feeling nothing with someone else in two and a half years, could never be wrong. You and me? Arizona, we will never be wrong."

Feeling Callie's heart beat against her hand and hearing her words made Arizona finally lose her strength in fighting Callie. "I'm so tired of fighting against my feelings for you."

"Then don't…" Callie leaned in close again for another kiss.

It took every bit of Arizona's strength to pull away and resist her overwhelming temptations. "Calliope, you have to stop. You know that I'm not that girl and you would never be able to forgive yourself for making me that girl either. I don't cheat and I'm not a cheater. So please, you have to stop because if you don't, and soon, I will become that girl I hate and I will make you the girl that everyone else hates. So please…"

Callie couldn't stand hearing the pain and anguish in Arizona's voice. It almost scared her to look up into her eyes for fear of what would reside in Arizona's deep blue eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're right, you're absolutely right about everything. This is not who we are. But I don't know what to do anymore. Ever since your graduation day I've been living a lie. I've been trying to convince myself that I could be happy with George and would eventually get over you. I have been trying to convince myself that what I was doing was for the best and that I needed to abide by my family and honor my promise, my commitment. But I can't just settle for that anymore. My dad developing this cancer and having to come back here to Seattle and be faced with seeing you again has opened my eyes. I've been miserable for years now and I haven't been truly happy in so long. I have felt so much more alive these past few weeks with you than I have in as long as I can remember. And all the happy memories I had before these past few weeks were from times I spent with you before the wedding and before being whisked away to San Francisco. Having my dad almost die on me made me realize that life is too short to settle with settling. I don't want to live a life of mediocrity. I want to fall asleep at night having the person who is on my mind and in my heart be the person lying down right beside me, wrapped up in my arms. I don't want to look at him and keep wishing that the next time I blink and open my eyes, it'll be you that I'm looking at. Do you see what I'm trying to say here?"

"Very much so," Arizona whispered back, fighting back tears. "I've spent every moment since I met George trying to hate you with every fiber of my being and erase you from my life." Callie cringed at what Arizona was saying, but didn't interrupt her, allowing Arizona to continue. "I hated that I hurt so much. I hated that I felt like my world was falling apart. I hated that I couldn't just get over it. I hated that despite everything, I couldn't forget you. I hate that I've been trying so hard to build myself back together and get out there and find someone who can make me feel even half as alive as you did. So yes, I have an idea what you're trying to say here."

"So let's just make it easier for the both of us. Let's-"

"Please don't finish that sentence."

"I'm sorry."

"And quit saying you're sorry."

"I'm- So what do you want me to say?"

"Nothing. I don't want you say anything. I just… I just need some time to think, alright? I need to be away from you for a little so I can finally have a chance to process stuff. You're like a magnet, and I'm a hopeless piece of metal trying to fight the pull you have over me. I need to be alone with my thoughts I guess. I can't just break it off with Caitlin and I would never ask you to leave your husband for me. So there are just so many things swimming through my head right now and I need to sort it out."

Callie slightly shook her head, a hint of a smile ghosting upon her lips. "I'm glad one of us can be the rational one here. I know you said to stop, but I'm really sorry for putting you in this situation. I would never want to put you in a spot where you would become someone you aren't because I know that amongst everything else you were taught, you are an honorable woman and I could never dream of taking that away from you. Take all the time that you need. You know where to find me." She stood up, placed a light kiss on Arizona's forehead and made her way back to the hospital.

* * *

"Hey, I was hoping you'd call," Caitlin answered in a sweet tone after a couple rings.

"Hi babe, what are you up to?"

"Just settling in for the evening. I had a pretty tiring day and felt like staying in tonight. I cooked up some dinner if you wanted to come over."

Arizona couldn't help but smile at how endearing Caitlin was, which didn't help matters at all. "That sounds awesome. I'll be right over."

"See you soon!"

Arizona arrived at Caitlin's apartment to a candlelit dinner with soft classical music playing in the background. "Caitlin," Arizona said in almost a half-gasp. "What is all of this?"

"You looked really run down earlier and I just thought you could use a relaxing dinner in. Or at least I was hoping for it."

"Aww, Caitlin… You shouldn't have."

"Maybe, but I wanted to. I wanted to do something sweet and romantic for you in hopes of brightening your mood and making your day better."

"Well you definitely did," Arizona replied, falling into Caitlin's arms, resting her head on Caitlin's shoulder, and burying her face in the crook of her neck. "You're awesome, you know that?"

Caitlin smiled as she held Arizona close and kissed her temple. "You're pretty awesome yourself, baby." They stood there in silence, occasionally slightly swaying to the music and enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms. "Hey, are you okay?" Caitlin asked a few minutes later, breaking their comfortable silence.

Arizona lifted her head from Caitlin's shoulder to look into Caitlin's eyes. _Mistake_. There was nothing but love and adoration in those emerald eyes and it made Arizona feel even more torn. "Yeah. Do I not seem okay?"

"I don't know. You just seem really distracted and a little worn down."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I guess I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Like Callie?"

Arizona froze. "Why do you think this is about Callie?"

"Well her dad is still in that coma and I bet it must be stressful to worry about that all the time. Then pile it on top of trying to be a good friend and supporting her through this and your already hectic work schedule; it's a lot to deal with."

"Oh yeah…" _Add to that having to fight against and hide my feelings for Calliope… _"I've had a lot on my plate lately, but I'm managing.

At that moment, a grumble rumbled through her stomach. "Right…" Caitlin chuckled. "Managing to take care of everyone but yourself. When was the last time you ate?" Arizona looked away bashfully. Caitlin took her hand and led her to the table, pulling out her chair. "Let me take care of you tonight, baby."

* * *

The next morning, Arizona woke up to the sound of something sizzling and the smell of coffee and pancakes. She got up, threw on one of Caitlin's long overnight t-shirts, and made her way out into the kitchen, the aroma of bacon hitting her as soon as she opened the bedroom door. "Mmm…. That smells delicious, Caitlin."

"Ahh, there you are sleepy head. Good morning!" Caitlin smiled, leaning back to accept Arizona's quick kiss. "Did you sleep well? Do you have time to have some breakfast before your shift?"

The truth was Arizona had to be at the hospital in thirty minutes, but she couldn't turn her down after the amazing night last night and taking the time to make her breakfast the next morning and just being the perfect girlfriend. "I slept great, thanks. And of course I have some time. Even if I didn't, I'll make time anyways. Thank you so much, for everything." Arizona grinned, taking a seat at the table and grabbing a piece of bacon.

Caitlin brought over a mug of coffee for Arizona and sat across from her. "You don't have to thank me for anything, Arizona. I was glad you let me take care of you last night. I hope that you're feeling a little more at ease today."

"Most definitely. All thanks to you, of course." They shared a quick breakfast together because Arizona really had to go rush off to the hospital since she was already running late.

* * *

Arizona spent her lunch hour up on the roof again, looking out over Downtown Seattle. She didn't know anyone was up there with her until she felt someone snake their arms around her waist and rest their chin on her shoulder. "I had a feeling I'd find you up here."

"Calliope…" Arizona breathed out, inhaling Callie's scent and absorbing her warmth through her loving embrace. "You really shouldn't be doing that right now."

Callie let out a whine, "Aww, why not?"

Arizona groaned, "You know why."

Callie shook her head against Arizona's shoulder. "Nah uh, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Arizona couldn't fight back a smile. "You're too cute when you do that. But honestly, I can't stay all honorable and whatnot with you holding me like this."

Callie slowly, and reluctantly, unwrapped herself from Arizona and took a seat next to her. "I know I said that I would give you some space to think, but I just couldn't stay away. It's torture knowing that we're in the same place and yet I can't see you. I'm sorry for just barging in on your lunch break. I can leave if you'd like. I mean, cause obviously you came up here to escape and think-" Callie was cut off by Arizona's giggling. Callie pouted, "What's so funny?"

"You're rambling, Calliope. And I'm fine, you don't have to leave. It's just peaceful up here and it helps me relax; allows me make sense of my thoughts."

"Well I'm sure that having me here isn't helping you at all. I just needed to see you, but I can just go back to my dad's room and-"

"Calliope Iphigenia Torres, will you stop being so stubborn!" Arizona chuckled inwardly at Callie flinching upon hearing her full name. "You're not bothering me one bit. I like having you around and just being next to you. I feel peaceful and relaxed with just that. Well, at least when you aren't constantly rambling and not listening to me."

Callie just nodded and looked to change the subject. "So… Penny for your thoughts?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now, is that okay? I'd rather just spend my break here with you and not worry about what else is going on. I don't want to deal with the crazy and hectic drama right now. I just… I want to be happy. I want to smile and laugh and joke around."

"We can do that." Callie smiled as the two spent the rest of Arizona's lunch enjoying each other's company.

**I know, I know… I know what you're all thinking, "GOSH DARNIT IT, ROX! WHY DOES IT TAKES YOU A ZILLION YEARS TO UPDATE?" I sincerely apologize though for taking so long! I honestly don't mean to do so though. It's like… I'll be thinking about the story and will get an idea in my head, but school has been killing me and I don't have the time to write. =[**

**BUT! I did manage to steal a few hours and give you guys something, so that's some redemption, right? =D **

**I don't know about you guys, but I am so stoked for the musical episode! The storyline makes me a little nervous, but I'm going crazy with having to wait to hear the songs and Sara's angelic voice to fill the room. If you've never heard her sing before, you should go do it now! As by request from me. **

**You know what else is a request from me? Reviewing this chapter and letting me know if these long waits I put you all through is worth it! I got a lot of feedback from you guys on the last chapter and it made me sooooooooooo happy. Another thank you to all of you who took the time to do that. You know I love you! **

**~Rox**


	11. Chapter 11

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 11

[_Flashback_]

Arizona felt her whole body shutting down. For months she had been doing everything she could to block out the pain in her heart and now the cause of her pain was standing right in front of her. "I can't do this," she whispered to herself. "I, umm, will you please excuse me?" she barely gets out before nearly running off; somewhere, anywhere away from the woman with the soulful eyes who held her broken heart.

"Dr. Robbins!" The Chief called out.

"Arizona!" Derek yelled immediately after.

He took a step towards following after the fleeing blonde, but an arm came up to his chest to stop him. "No, let her be. This is all my fault." Callie uttered sadly.

* * *

Now that Arizona was out of Callie's presence, a whole range of emotions flooded her at once. She felt panic, pain, anger, and sadness. It felt like a dream, no, more so a nightmare, that she couldn't wake from. She moved as fast as her legs would take her so she could be alone and escape the scrutinizing eyes of those whom she passed.

She ran out to the stairwell and slumped down onto one of the steps. _What is going on? Why is she here? How can this be happening? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Why would she show up to my work like this? How did she manage to go to this "shadow a doctor day" visit? I can't work with her here. I can't think if I have to be around her. God, why does she still have to be so beautiful? All I have to do is get through this day without being alone with her and I'll be fine. Just get through this day. _Arizona sighed. _Easier said than done._

Her inner monologue was interrupted when the sound of her beeping pager echoed throughout the stairwell. It was a page from Derek telling her to go to the pit, so she quickly pulled herself together and ran off to the ER. To her dismay, Callie was standing there observing Derek as he was tending to a patient. "Ahh, there you are Dr. Robbins. I was just getting finished here and was wondering if you could take Mr. Wilson here for a head CT so we can check for any brain damage."

"Of course, Dr. Shepherd."

"Great, thank you." He finished signing off on the chart before handing it off to Arizona and heading towards the door to get to the other patients. He stopped suddenly, causing Callie to nearly bump into him. "Actually, Callie, do you mind going with Dr. Robbins here?"

Arizona looked at him in shock and horror. "Oh no, Dr. Shepherd, that's not necessary. I can totally do this on-"

"Oh non-sense, Dr. Robbins. This day is meant to be a learning experience and she can decipher the scans with you when they come in and learn how a CT works and everything. Callie, you don't have any objections, do you?"

Callie opened her mouth to say something. "I…" Anything; but nothing seemed to come out. "I, umm…"

"Great, it's settled then. Callie, you accompany Dr. Robbins for this CT scan and you two find me when you get the results."

Arizona's figure visibly slumped. _Oh great_, she thought. _So much for not being alone with her. This is going to be a very, __very__ long day…_

_

* * *

_

Arizona took the gurney and wheeled Mr. Wilson over to CT with a visibly nervous Callie pushing it and walking alongside her, obviously lost in thought in how to initiate a conversation with the blonde intern. "So how are you liking being an actual doctor so far?" she started off tentatively. When she got no response from Arizona, she decided to keep cautiously asking her questions. "I mean, it must be so cool to finally be living out your dream, right? Four years of med school teaches you a lot but it's nothing compared to actually doing all those things they taught us about." Arizona still remained silent, ignoring her and doing her best to keep away from personal matters and stay professional. "Arizona… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I'm-"

"No."

"I-"

"No, no! You will not hold me hostage and make me listen to you. I am taking my patient up to get a CT scan and doing my job. That's-that's why I'm here. That is the only reason. No talking. _None_."

* * *

The two went about doing the CT scans in relative silence. Every time Callie opened her mouth to try to apologize again, Arizona would turn her head and give her a glare that told her not to dare say another word to her. So Callie would just shut her mouth and try to focus on the task at hand. Everything with the patient went smoothly as they relayed the results over to Derek who determined the scans were clean and that the patient could go home.

After Arizona took care of the discharge papers and got Derek to sign off on them, she looked at her watch to see that it was the end of her shift. She checked in with Derek to see if she was still needed, and when he told her she could go home, she let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't wait to get back to her apartment and collapse onto her bed, letting the softness of her bed envelop her and let her drift off to dreamland to forget all about this day. Her plans were thwarted though when she saw a very familiar set of raven locks and chocolate brown eyes waiting for her outside of the hospital. _Seriously, can this day get any worse?_

When Callie spotted Arizona walking towards her, she quickly rose to her feet and placed her best smile upon her face. "Arizona!" she called out to her. "Arizona, please wait up. I was hoping we could talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Callie."

"Please, just give me another chance. Let me explain-"

"Let you explain what? Let you explain how you have a fiancée that you never told me about? Let you explain how you kept me a secret from your family? Let you explain how you blindsided me with George at my own graduation? Let you explain how you chose to stay in your engagement with him instead of being with me? I mean, honestly, I don't want to hear anymore from you because all it seems to do is give me more heartache. So if you don't mind, I just want to go home now and get some sleep. I had a really long day today."

"Well at least let me buy you dinner or walk you home or something."

"Just go home, Callie. Just go home to your precious fiancée, wherever that is, and leave me alone here in Seattle. Just leave me alone. I can't take much more of this from you."

"But I love you, Arizona! I love you and my life is miserable without you. I love you so much that-"

"Stop. Just stop! You don't get to prance in here and bombard me at my work. You don't get to follow me up here to Seattle and suddenly transfer to the University of Washington in the middle of your four years of medical school then show up during their shadow a doctor day visits and coincidentally get paired up with the doctor whose service I was on that day. You don't get to do this to me. You don't get to come back into my life after I just spent all this time trying to pull myself back together. You don't get to break my heart and then tell me you love me. So please, just go. Let me move on and learn to live my life without you."

"I can't do that. I can't do that, Arizona."

"Why the hell not, Callie? After everything that you've done to me, why can't you do this one thing for me? Why can't you just let me go and let me try to rebuild my life and forget about you?"

"Because I need you. I need you in my life because if I don't have you, I have nothing else that matters to me anymore. And I'm sorry that I hurt you. I am so deeply, deeply, _deeply_ sorry because I am so in love with you. And I will apologize to you every day if that's what you need because I need you and you're the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

Arizona's face softened and Callie thought she was going to cave in and let them talk, or better yet, fall into her arms and tell her she loved and needed her too. "You should have thought about that before you decided to lie." Arizona said in a pitying way, before turning and walking away from a devastated Callie.

* * *

In a way, Callie honored Arizona's wishes and stayed away. Well, at least in the physical sense. Callie didn't stalk the hospital or Arizona's apartment building, nor did she randomly bump into her at various places around Seattle. That being said, she hardly left Arizona alone. Every morning Arizona would arrive at the hospital and have a new rose awaiting her, complete with an "I'm sorry" card, not needing anymore to know who it was from. Every morning she would toss said rose in the trash or hand them to a thrilled co-worker who always thanked her for the "sweet gesture" they'd call it while she always assured them that it "wasn't a big deal."

For the rest of her internship, she received a rose of varying colors every morning with an unsigned "I'm sorry" card that occasionally accompanied a larger box on the days that should have been another "monthiversary." She never kept the presents, never even opened them. She always made sure she sent it back with a "return to sender" written to let Callie know of her rejection. They didn't seem to faze her though as the gifts kept pouring in every month and every month, Arizona sent them back unopened. Arizona wasn't going to let Callie off the hook with her buying her way back to the blonde's good graces. The gifts and flowers were cute, at least that's what the other doctors and nurses said at Callie's romantic antics, but Arizona needed more. She needed to know that Callie truly was sorry for hurting her and not just taking the easy way out in apologizing by flashing her money around, which did nothing to impress Arizona whatsoever.

But today was a new day. Arizona was beyond excited because she passed her intern test with flying colors and it was her first day as a resident. She decided to stay in Seattle and do her residency at Seattle Grace, much to the excitement of the hospital staff. She shrugged on her new white coat, freshly engraved with her name, before giddily making her way to the surgical floor's nurse's station to find out what her assignment for the day was. She was ecstatic about getting her own team of interns to teach, motivate, and inspire while at the same time bettering herself as a doctor and dedicated teacher.

She looked out into the sea of overeager, though frightened, interns. She smiled at them encouragingly as an attempt to reassure them that everything was going to be alright. Her smile faltered and then soon fell altogether when her eyes swept across the beautiful face of a certain Latina in the middle of the crowd. She soon tuned out the Chief who was debriefing the interns before assigning them to their residents. She didn't snap out of her trance until she heard the Chief utter the one thing she did not want to hear. "…and Torres, you're with Dr. Robbins."

After the announcements, the Chief left and the other residents and interns took off in their own directions to start a quick tour of the hospital and go over a brief summary of the rules and breakdown of their intern years. Arizona, however, stayed glued to her spot with four sets of eyes staring at her, one set in particular drawing all her attention. Once the initial shock wore off, a blind rage came over Arizona. She dismissed the other three interns to go observe a surgery of their picking until she paged them later while grabbing Callie's arm and leading her to the stairwell. "What the hell!"

"Good morning, Dr. Robbins."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm starting my first day of work as one of Seattle Grace's newest interns."

"But this isn't _your_ workplace, this is _my_ workplace. _I_ work here, _me_. Not you."

"Well…now we're both working here! Cool, right?"

Arizona took a step forward so she could look Callie directly in the face. Callie couldn't help but take a step back when she saw the fire in Arizona's eyes. "What did you not get in the past couple years?"

"Arizona, what are you-"

"I never wrote you back or picked up the phone to call you or text you, hell, I never even opened any of your presents and always sent them back. I had no interest in seeing you. I had no interest in you being in my life."

"Well, I think you're playing a game with me. I think you're testing me to see if I really mean it when I said that I would apologize every day and -"

"My lack of interest in seeing you is not a strategy. I'm not, uh, playing hard to get. I don't want to see you. You're untrustworthy, so I don't want to see you. You're self-centered, so I don't want to see you. I am 100% certain that _if_ I let you back into my life again, you will hurt me again. So I _don't want_ to see you. This isn't a ploy, I'm not- I'm not pouting. _I don't want you in my life!_ So go get your things together and request an immediate transfer, now." And with that, Arizona turned on her heels and marched out of the stairwell, leaving a stunned Callie in her wake.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

"Mark, do you think you can be in love with two people at the same time?"

"You talking about Torres and Catie?" Arizona nodded. "No, I don't think you can, Blondie."

Arizona's face fell and she frowned. "I just don't know what to do anymore! Every day I keep fighting this battle and soon enough, I _will_ lose the war."

"I know you love Catie. I honestly do. She's an amazing girl and she's been perfect for you. I don't think I've ever met a more caring human being."

"Which is what makes everything so hard! Caitlin has got the biggest heart I've ever seen and I don't want to be the one to break it. I really do love her, how can I not after everything she's done for me?"

"There's no doubt in my mind that you love Catie, but I don't think you're in love with her. I know you want to because you're so comfortable with her, but you can't make yourself fall in love with someone just because you want for it to happen. You're in love with Torres. Always have been and always will be. You thought you two were able to hide your love for each other and cover it in the mask of friendship all those years ago, but everyone around here knew the truth. You gave me hope because even if you didn't want to say the words, all your feelings could be seen in your eyes. I wanted to one day look at a woman in the way that you look at Torres."

"I've never stopped loving her, Mark."

"I know, Arizona."

"Even when she broke my heart the first time on my graduation day, I tried pushing her out of my mind and squishing her into a box that I could store away forever. I tried throwing myself into my work so I could forget about her. I tried ignoring her when she showed up in Seattle, but she's always found her way back into my heart. Before her, I was great at protecting my heart. I was great at always keeping a distance so I wouldn't get hurt. Calliope's been the only one who has broken all my rules and make me hers. It's like she's branded my heart. She's the only person who has ever broken me, yet she's the only one who can put me back together."

"If you still feel this strongly, you should talk to Torres and tell her how you feel. And you also need to talk to Catie and be honest with her."

"I know, Mark, I know. But-"

"But nothing, Robbins. You're playing with fire here because you're holding the hearts of two incredible women in your hands and the longer you leave things untouched, the greater the fall. You're a good person and I truly believe that. We didn't start off on the right foot in the beginning and haven't always seen eye to eye on a whole spectrum of things, but you've grown on me these past few years and I also love Catie and Torres. You three are like family to me and I don't want to see anyone get hurt. You need to be open with the two of them because you can't keep stringing them along. Callie is still in love with you and Caitlin worships the ground you walk on and is oblivious to all of this. You need to make a choice."

"But I don't want to choose! How can I choose between my girlfriend who is the kindest person in the world and the married woman who has my heart? You can't just tell me to choose because there is no _right _and _easy_ choice. No matter which way I pick, someone gets hurt. And I have so much to lose with either woman. With Caitlin, I feel so safe with her. I know that she'd never hurt me and that she'll always be there for me even when I'm at my worst. I don't have to pretend to be all happiness and rainbows all the time because she saw me when I was at rock bottom. She gathered all the broken pieces that Callie smashed of me together and didn't let me keep falling even further apart. I can't just leave her like that because the woman I never got over comes back into town. Calliope's still married for God's sake! I can't just come in and ruin her marriage like that. She's told me so many times how she has to honor this commitment and promise that I can't tell her to leave her husband for me. I can't tell her to drop her entire life and move back to Seattle with me. This whole situation is so messed up in so many ways. I'm going to ruin lives, Mark. I'm going to ruin lives and I just can't. I can't-" Arizona's voice broke as sobs racked through her body and she couldn't get another word out. Mark immediately rushed over and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to cry on his chest. "I'm sorry… I can't-"

"It's okay, Arizona. It's okay. You don't have to say anymore."

"I can't…" she kept repeatedly whispering.

* * *

Callie was sitting in Carlos' room reading through some orthopedics-related articles in a medical journal. She glanced over to her father lying in the hospital looking peaceful in his unconscious state. She rubbed her temples and placed the journal down then grabbed one of Carlos' hand in both of hers. She looked at him for a while, examining every sign of age on his face, his thinning hair, the rise and fall of his chest. Tears started slowly trekking their way down her face as she took in a deep breath and released it, hoping to release all her built up stress and worries with it. "I don't know what to do anymore, daddy," she began. "For my entire life, I've never wanted to do anything other than to please you and mom and be the perfect daughter. I loved being your shining star, your pride and joy. I loved being the daughter that you praised to all your friends and business associates and to the rest of the family. I loved it so much that I never wanted to disappoint you. I loved making you and mommy proud so much that I let you dictate how I was going to live my life. I mean, I had to fight tooth and nail just to be able to go to LA for medical school. I loved being your ideal daughter so much that I let you set me up with George and I let myself say yes to his marriage proposal. I loved being the apple of your eye so much that I let you ruin my relationship with the greatest person I have ever met in my whole life and have the love of my life run away from me and flee to Seattle just to get away from me. You made me lie to her and break her heart. I loved being your angel so much that I pushed aside everything that _I_ wanted and did what you expected me to do. I hid my feelings for so many years and became emotionally void.

"I love Arizona, daddy. I love Arizona so much that it hurts. I've loved her ever since we met at that end of the year party after my first year in medical school and I can't stop. Living my life without her is just so empty and meaningless. Seeing her now in a relationship with another woman breaks my heart because even though I'm glad that she's moving on, I hate that it's not me who is making her happy. My heart doesn't know how to beat for anyone else but her. I've only been here for a few weeks and I'm already falling in love with her all over again. But this time, I don't want to fight it. I don't want to try to exercise every bit of restraint I have to not give into my feelings.

"I'm not happy. Before when I was a little girl, making you and mom happy was always enough to make me happy as well. But now, now that I know what it's like to be with and fall in love with someone as amazing as Arizona, it's not enough. I knew what true happiness felt like and I tossed it aside because of honor and duty. But I can't do that anymore. I need to do what's best for me because life is too short to be living in the what if's. I know that you're probably going to be extremely angry and disappointed in me when you wake up, but I can't live my life like this anymore. I can't be with George and pretend to be happy when my whole being aches for Arizona.

"I've let us suffer for far too long now and I have to put an end to it. I have a chance now. I have a chance to make everything right again. It's fate, I have to believe it's fate. Fate would bring us back together after everything that's happened and give me another chance to be with her. This my probably my last chance with her and I can't let it slip through my hands again. I need to stand up and fight for her. I need to let her know that I can't live without her in life and that this friendship thing we've been trying to do just isn't working. Arizona can't be _just _my friend. I need to make her see and hear that because I don't think another opportunity like this will present itself again. She means everything to me and I can't bear to lose her again.

"Do you understand, daddy? Can you understand what I'm saying here? I love you. I love you and mom and Aria so, so, so much. And I would never want to do anything to bring shame upon this family. I wouldn't want to break my promises or ruin the bond we have with the O'Malley's, but I need to do this. I need to do this for me and for Arizona.

"I know you love her too. I know that despite her being the reason I almost backed out of my engagement with George and being 'sinful' in your eyes because she made me fall in love with her, you still think so highly of her. I know that if she weren't gay you'd jump at the opportunity to marry her into the family. I know how she's the only person in my life who you've taken an immediate liking to. I don't blame you because you probably got sucked in by her adorable dimples or super magic smile or incredible blue eyes or infectious laugh or overall awesome personality. I don't know who I would be if I hadn't met her. So that's why I'm going to fight. I'm going to fight and I am going to win her back and spend the rest of my life making it up to her and you can't do anything about it except love and accept me for who I am."

* * *

Meanwhile, Arizona was finally slowing down her tears and relaxing into Mark's arms. "Hey, you feel better now?" Mark gently asked.

"Yeah-sniff-. I'm feeling a lot better –sniff-. Thanks Mark. You've been such a good friend to me lately and I can't thank you enough."

"Well, if you really wanted to pay me back, you could…" he said in a playful tone, adding in a wink.

"Mark Sloan! Even when we're having an intimate moment," she stopped when she saw him raise his eyebrows as a sign of interest. "Not that kind of intimate moment, you perv!" Arizona laughed. "But seriously, thank you so much. It feels good to talk to someone who knew the both of us and about our situation. I've been going crazy trying to keep everything in and stay strong while trying to figure all of this out, so thank you for letting me get all emotional girl on you and letting it out."

"Don't mention it, Arizona." Mark replied, pulling her in for one last hug. "Seriously, don't mentioned it!" He joked again when he released her from his hold.

"Always trying to protect the reputation. Typical man. But don't worry. I'll keep it between us," Arizona went along with the light atmosphere. "I feel a lot better now that I let some of my feelings out. I should probably go check on my patients now though." She smiled making her way towards the door as her pager beeped. "Ah, perfect timing. Like I said, it was about time I-"

Arizona freezing mid-sentence made Mark look up to see her staring down at her pager with a mixture of panic, concern, and fear in her face. "Robbins? Is everything alright?"

"It's Carlos. I have to go…right now!" She barely got out the last part as she was already taking off in a run toward his room.

**Hey, check it out! I wrote you guys another update and it didn't take me another month or 5 weeks to do so, hurray! I know that you want Callie and Arizona to get together already, but you know I can't just throw them together again just like that! As I've mentioned to those who reviewed the last chapter, if I were to do that, then the story would essentially be over and it would have skipped over everything and be anti-climactic, don't you think?**

**Anyways, I'm sorry, but my brain can hardly function these days for more than just a few minutes at a time because of the craziness that was Thursday night's episode, the ending made my heart stop two separate times in like the last three minutes alone, and then Sara's EP being released, which you all need to go buy on iTunes and listen to because it's been on repeat ever since I bought it and it's A-MAZ-ING. Trust me, you won't regret buying it. And then of course there's next week's musical episode that I will probably just lose all brain function before, during, and after, so yeah… I have no idea why I'm rambling so much really. I guess all the excitement for Grey's this weekend has got my all hyped up.**

**As always, a HUGE thank you to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. You guys are the best and any and everything you have to say always makes me smile. And I really love smiling. So make me smile, please? =]**


	12. Chapter 12

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 12

[Flashback]

To Arizona's dismay, Callie didn't request that transfer and to an even greater annoyance, stayed on her service. They managed to maintain a professional front while in front of the other interns and hospital staff, but things could not be said when they were left alone. Callie sought out every chance she could get, but every time she got close to her, Arizona would find a way to avoid her. Most of the time, she was able to claim she had something work related and run off before Callie could get a word in otherwise. Other times when she couldn't make an immediate escape, she would order Callie to silence and continue giving her the cold shoulder.

It was a rare slow moment in the hospital and Arizona was thankful for a moment to get off her feet and rest up. She trudged to an on-call room and slipped in quickly, turning on the light to see if there were open beds. She saw that the room was mostly empty except for one occupant of a top bunk who groaned from within their blanket cocoon at being woken up by the sudden brightness. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize it was occupied. I'll go shut off the lights and let you get back to sleep."

"It's alright, Ariz- I mean, _Dr. Robbins_."

Arizona froze in place upon hearing the voice, immediately recognizing who it belonged to despite it being scratchy and raspy from sleep. "I'm sorry, Callie. I didn't realize it was you in here. I'll let you get back to sleep and find somewhere else to-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Arizona. We're adults; we can share an on-call room and sleep." Arizona's silence only pushed Callie to keep going. "It's just sleep, Arizona. Surely just sleeping in the same room with me won't kill you." She got off the bed and slowly made her way over to Arizona until she was standing directly behind her. "Just stay," she whispered into Arizona's hair, breathing in her scent, automatically being intoxicated by her smell. "I miss you," she said barely loud enough for Arizona to hear her. "Please stay…"

Arizona's body went stiff and was on overdrive feeling Callie pressed up against her back. She was so tired of being angry and hurt and wanted to just forgive Callie right on the spot, but she knew she couldn't give in that easily. The girl standing behind her had broken her heart and betrayed her trust. She lied and devastated her, leaving her completely humiliated in front of her parents. She cursed herself for being so weak and powerless in the presence of this woman who drove her insane. If she just leaned back a few more inches then Callie's lips could… "Don't…"

"Arizona-"

"No! You can't just come in here into my new life and be your charming self. You can't worm your way back in my mind when I worked so hard to block you out and forget about you. I threw myself into my work and was the doctor to watch. I was slowly getting back to something somewhat normal. I didn't want to just crawl under a rock and just cry all day anymore. I didn't want to drink until I felt so numb that I couldn't feel anything anymore. I wasn't feeling sorry for myself and I was almost okay. You don't get to ruin all of that for me. So can you just…"

Callie's hands hovered around Arizona's lower back so close to touching her that Arizona could feel the heat radiating off of hands. Her whole body tingled feeling Callie step even closer to her, nearly trapping her up against the wall. She flinched when she felt Callie rest her head on her shoulder. Hearing Callie's intake of breath was almost too much for her to handle. "_I'm so sorry…_" Callie whispered out to Arizona, who could feel every drop of emotion laced into those words and she knew that Callie was sincere.

She didn't get a chance to respond because before she could turn around, Callie was already backing away and heading out the door. "_I know… I miss you too."_

* * *

Later that night, Callie found herself sitting alone staring down into her drink. She was lost in thought, still haunted by her conversation with Arizona. She hoped that the alcohol would wash away some of her guilt, but it only made her feel worse. "A beautiful woman such as yourself shouldn't be sitting here looking as sad as you do right now," Callie heard coming from her right. She shook herself out of her thoughts to look at the handsome man smiling back at her. "Mark Sloan, it's a pleasure to you meet you…?"

"Callie Torres. _Dr._ Callie Torres," she replied, taking his outstretched hand.

"Ah, no wonder you seem so familiar. You work at Seattle Grace, right?" Callie nodded. "Well it's about time I be properly introduced to you then."

Callie couldn't deny that Mark Sloan was a charming, enchanting, no doubt ladies man who was probably used to any and every woman falling over at a chance to jump in the sack with him. She couldn't hold back a little chuckle at that thought. "So, do those lines work for all the women?"

"For some, yeah. For others, they need a little more coaxing," he smiled cockily back at her. "But judging from that, you're probably one of those women who will make me work a little harder, right?"

"Wrong," _Oh, how I love his kicked puppy dog look right now._ "I'm not 'one of those women' who think they're the luckiest girl by taking you home tonight."

"Well, if you don't want to take me home, my place is certainly up to par as well…"

"Oh my God, shut up! Do you seriously think you have a shot with me tonight?" Mark opened his jaw a couple times to find a comeback, but realized everything he would have said sounded completely idiotic. "That's right. You're much more tolerable with your mouth shut. Get lost, _Mark Sloan_." Callie spit his name out with such contempt before spinning around in her bar stool and walking out of the bar, leaving Mark to cover her tab.

* * *

Callie stood at the nurse's station and watched Arizona out of the corner of her eye finish up some charts as she herself pretended to be working on her own. "Well no wonder you turned me down the other night."

"Excuse you?" Callie rolled her eyes annoyed at the appearance of the pesky plastic surgeon.

"The other night at Joe's, remember? You turned me down and left me with your tab. By the way, you're welcome."

"Is there anything medically related that you need from me_, Dr. _Sloan? Otherwise, I have a job to get back to."

"Like staring at Blondie over there?" Mark motioned in Arizona's direction. "Like I said, it's no wonder you turned me down. How can I compete when you play for the other team?"

"How dare you. You don't know a thing about me." Callie angrily flipped her chart closed and snuck a glance Arizona's way to find the blonde nowhere in sight, which only irritated her more. "And no, I did not turn you down the other night because I 'play for the other team.' I turned you down because you're an ass!"

"Would I still be an ass if I asked you out for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Are you serious right now?"

"What? Dinner is a great way to get to know each other."

"Oh, is that right?" Mark grinned confidently at her. "Well I can guarantee you that I have no intention or interest in getting to know you."

"Oh, but I can assure you that you do. Because you see, underneath this rugged exterior lies a gentle soul."

"I highly doubt that."

"You'll never know unless you come to dinner with me."

"You're really persistent, aren't you?"

"You intrigue me, Dr. Torres."

"Because I turned you down." It wasn't a question. Just a statement of fact.

"Amongst other things."

Callie furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine, one dinner. But that's it."

"Aww, and here I was hoping for a private anatomy lesson with you afterwards."

"Don't push your luck, Sloan. Or I very well might just change my mind."

"Pick you up at 7!"

* * *

To Callie's surprise, dinner with Mark was going much better than she anticipated. He was being a gentleman and nothing like their previous two encounters. "Well, I must say, Mark, I am thoroughly impressed."

"What did I tell you, Torres? I'm more than just a pretty face with a scalpel."

"And I'm starting to really like this side of you. You should show it more often."

"No way."

"Why not? You'd certainly be more liked this way."

Mark visibly tensed, clearly uncomfortable with the new, serious, direction the conversation was heading. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Come on, Mark. Having people like you isn't as bad as it seems," she joked. Her expression changed when she noticed that Mark kept averting his eyes towards everything else but her own. "What happened to you that you want to keep people away and not let them know this great guy I see here?"

"God, why do you have to keep pushing me?"

"You took me out tonight to get to know each other better, right?"

Mark pursed his lips into a thin line. He stared Callie down with a frown, hoping she'd give in but released a deep breath when she held his stare and continued casually sipping at her wine. "I have no family. I have no friends. Derek, he was both for a while before I screwed up with us. Since then, I haven't gotten close nor let anyone else get close to me. I just find it easier that way."

"So why decide to be the asshole manwhore?"

"Other than surgery, sex is the only other thing I can offer. It's the only other thing I can do right. So it's just easier to deal with the loneliness. And when I have these one night stands or short flings, I don't get attached and don't get hurt. It's a win-win, really."

"That's not true, Mark. You're good for more than just sex and I think you're worth getting to know in the daytime."

"Thanks, Callie. That's the first time anyone has ever said that to me."

"Well, I mean it. You've proven to me tonight that you are a good guy. Just because you've been hurt in the past doesn't mean you should keep yourself from having relationships with people. Learn from your past, don't hide from it."

"This is definitely the most emotional and interesting first date I've ever had."

"Well I'm definitely not like all the other women you've taken out on a date. So, tell me what happened with you and Derek?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Torres. That's _at least_ third date status stuff right there. You've already gotten me opening up about my relationship issues; I think that's enough for one night. Besides, here I am doing all this talking and I still know close to nothing about you aside from all those typical things you learn on a first date."

"Fair enough. Go ahead, the floor is yours. What do you want to know?"

"What is up with you and Blondie?"

Callie nearly spit out her wine and started violently coughing. After she calmed, she racked her brain for the right way to answer him. "By 'Blondie', you're talking about Ariz- Dr. Robbins, right?" Mark nodded, leaning on his elbows looking like a high school girl about to hear a juicy piece of gossip. "Umm, there's nothing to tell."

"Oh, come on! Don't give me that crap. I totally saw you staring at her the other day. There has to be something there!"

"First of all, your excitement over all of this is really disturbing. Second of all, you're just jumping to conclusions in your head. We were at the same nurse's station. It's pretty much inevitable for me to glance over at her on occasion."

"Except you were doing more than just giving her a glance."

"You're such a typical straight guy. You see me looking at Dr. Robbins and now there has to be some hot background story on us."

"Well can you blame me? You're a ridiculously hot chick, she's a ridiculously hot chick, I mean you two together is just…mind-blowing!"

_Yeah, you got that right…_ "Even if there was, it wouldn't matter anyways. I'm engaged. To a really wonderful guy who is nothing but sweet and loving."

"I don't see a ring anywhere."

"I don't wear it very often."

"Because?..."

"Because it's nobody's business quite frankly. I like keeping my private life, private, as much as I can with how crazy the rumor mill gets at Seattle Grace."

"Wow, getting a little defensive there are we?"

"Just back off, Mark."

He raised his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. That was probably a little too much for a first date, but you did say the floor was mine and to ask what I wanted to know. I know there's something you're not telling me about Blondie and I'll get it out of you sooner or later. Just know that I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk about it."

"Whatever you say, Mark, whatever you say."

"Now who is the one distancing themselves from people?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ever since you started working here, you haven't exactly made a ton of friends with the other doctors and nurses. You're not rude or unfriendly, just unwilling to connect. You make sad puppy dog eyes at Blondie and then put on a bad ass façade for everyone else. One of these days, you'll crack though and you'll tell me what's really going on."

"Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you? Think you've got me all figured out?" Mark was looking rather pleased with himself thinking he was breaking down Callie's defenses. "You don't know anything." She said in a chillingly calm tone. She stood up and gathered up her things. "Thanks for dinner, but I really don't think this is going to work out between us." Once again, Callie left Mark sitting there dumbfounded, all alone with only their tab as his company.

* * *

After the disastrous dinner date with Mark, Callie went out of her way to avoid him at all costs. It bothered her that he was able to strike a nerve with his Arizona talk and how close he was with his analysis of her. The truth was, she wasn't particularly interested in befriending her other co-workers. Her mind was strictly on the blonde who she still saw on a daily basis considering she was her resident, but Arizona still remained elusive, dodging the Latina every time they were even close to being alone.

"Torres, you're with Sloan today."

"What? Arizona-" Callie cut herself off when she met Arizona's death glare. "I mean, Dr. Robbins, can you switch me out onto someone else's service?"

"Are you questioning my authority? If you have a problem with my orders then I can just-"

"No, everything is alright. I'm sorry, Dr. Robbins." Callie smiled sweetly at Arizona hoping to see a bit of acknowledgement or compassion, but was quickly dismissed off as Arizona continued assigning the other interns. _This day is going to suck._

* * *

Working with Mark wasn't as painfully agonizing as she first thought it would be. He was surprisingly really professional to her and they were even working on a really cool case so it was rather tolerable. Well, until their patient started crashing in the OR and they ended up losing him. Although it wasn't the first person to die on her watch, Callie was still pretty affected by it all. After scrubbing out, she immediately ran off to an on-call room before crawling up in one of the beds and finally letting her tears out.

Mark could see that Callie was affected by watching a man literally die right in front of her face and he wanted to reassure her that they did everything they could and sometimes people can seem perfectly fine until they just…aren't. He wanted to talk to her in the scrub room, but she ran off so fast he hardly saw her leave when he walked in. He made sure to wash up as quickly as possible though to go follow her and make sure she was okay. He asked around looking for her when he couldn't see her anywhere in sight and was led to an on-call room tucked in the corner of the surgical wing.

When he walked in, the sight before him nearly broke his heart. There was Callie lying on top of the blankets curled up in the fetal position facing the wall, her body shaking from her silent sobs. He slowly approached the bed and tentatively slid in behind her. He felt her body immediately tense as he wrapped his arm around her, but he was quick to soothe her panic. "Shh, it's alright, Cal. It's just me. You're okay." She started to relax into his embrace after a while and Mark just let her cry, not rushing to get her to talk. "I know that it's really hard to lose a patient, but we did everything we could. It hurts knowing that you couldn't save him, but you just have to move on and focus on the next person, someone who you hope you can save. After a while, you learn how to deal with losing someone so it doesn't hurt as much."

Callie smiled for a moment, endeared by how caring Mark was being, coming after her to make sure she was okay even after she was horrible to him and left him with both her drinks and dinner checks. "Thanks, Mark. Thanks for being here and checking up on me. I guess everything just kind of overwhelmed me. All this drama between Arizona and you was just tiring me out and I suppose this case was just the catalyst that drove me over the edge emotionally. I thought I had it all intact and I could handle being around both you and her, but it's just too much. I'm sorry for avoiding you and treating you like crap. You're a good guy, Mark. You can make yourself one hell of a friend if you'd just allow yourself the chance."

"Let me take that chance then."

"Hmm?"

"With you. Let me be your friend and show me that it isn't really all that bad."

"I don't know, Mark. I-"

"Come on, Cal. You're like the only person who I can stand around here who won't put up with my crap. I think we could be great friends."

Callie thought about it for a minute before rolling over to face Mark. "Alright, alright. I think we can try it out. But no sex, got it?"

"Aww, but where's the fun in that?" Callie's warning glare was enough to shut him up. She obviously wasn't in the joking mood at the moment. "I'm sorry, just kidding, Cal. Why don't you take a quick nap right now? I think it could do you some good after everything that's been wearing you down."

"That doesn't sound half bad. Wow, we're friends all of one minute and you're already offering excellent advice."

"Hey, don't mock me. Anyways, I'll just leave you to-"

"No, please, don't go." Callie protested, holding onto Mark's arm as he started to get up. "I don't want to be alone right now and it's comforting, being here with you if I'm going to be honest."

"Of course, friends are always there for their friends whenever they need comforting." Mark answered as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, allowing her to place her head on his chest and fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hours later, Callie's sleep was disrupted when someone burst through the door in an extremely noisy fashion. Callie opened her sleep-filled eyes and immediately shot them open when her gaze met ocean blue. Arizona looked distraught and her face was quickly starting to take on a new emotion, anger. "Unbelievable!" She exclaimed before turning on her heels and storming out.

It took Callie a fraction of a second to regroup before jumping over Mark and literally falling off the bed in her rush to catch up to Arizona. Something was wrong with the blonde and she could see it in her eyes even though she only saw her for a moment before anger flashed across her features. "Arizona, wait up!" Callie called after the blonde, hobbling to pull her shoes on in the process.

"Go away, Callie. You should go back to Mark, I'm sure he's already missing you. Sorry to interrupt your precious alone time."

"Now hold on, it wasn't like that at all!"

"Don't lie to me! I know what I saw."

"First of all, you don't get to judge when you haven't even given me two seconds to talk to you about anything anymore. And second of all, don't turn this around and make it about me. I can tell that something's wrong, Arizona. What is it?" Callie looked around to see that all eyes were on them. She looked back over to the blonde to see that she was back to the brink of tears and she quickly led her to the stairwell and away from the curious eyes. "Talk to me, please…"

"He died." Arizona choked out before letting her resolve fade. "Timothy, he-h-he… He's gone and I-I can't-He-Timothy died, Callie. My brother is dead."

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Although Arizona feared for the worst, the page turned out to be a good thing since Carlos finally woke up from his coma. She finally felt some sense of relief knowing that Carlos had made it through and would be okay, pending any nerve damage that would be assessed by Dr. Shepherd in the upcoming days. Everything looked fine so far though, he told them.

It was torture, being in that room with Callie and her father, wanting to wrap Callie up in her arms and celebrate this moment. It didn't help matters at all when Carlos kept throwing her these looks letting her know that he had not forgotten their talk before his aneurysm burst. As much as it pained her, she still didn't want to leave that room. Being in there with a happy Callie and an alive and well Carlos made her have a flashback to when Arizona would go with Callie to Miami to visit the Torres' and everyone got along great. But along with these happy memories from her flashbacks came a giant pain in her heart and she had to excuse herself before she broke down in front of Carlos.

"I'm really sorry, Carlos, but I have to get back to work. I'm super happy that you're okay though and I'll try to stop by later if that's alright with you."

"Of course, of course, Arizona. I'm sorry to have kept you for so long. I take it you've taken care of my Calliope over here when she was, I'm sure, a complete wreck as of late?"

Arizona couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. This man really did know everything. "She's very stubborn and refused to leave your bedside, but I managed to do the best I could."

"Thank you, Arizona. For always being there for Calliope."

"Daddy, I'm right here you know! And stop embarrassing her." Callie joked, even though she was only half kidding around. She could see the tension Arizona was trying to hide from her father and had to jump in to save her. "But Arizona, if you have a minute, I'd like to have a word with you before you go back."

"Umm, sure. We can walk and talk. See you later, Carlos." Both women exited Carlos' room en route to the PEDs floor. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Us."

Arizona paused and quickly looked around to see if there was anyone around before dragging Callie into an empty room. "There is no 'us', Calliope. There is a me and Caitlin, and there is a you and George, but there is no 'us', okay? So don't say that."

"No, you don't say that!" Callie's sudden outburst shocked Arizona, but she didn't say anything, allowing Callie to carry on. "You can't tell me that there isn't an 'us' when for the past few weeks we were back to all those years ago, even if it were only a couple moments here and there. The fact of the matter is I still love you and I know you still love me too. So you can't tell me there isn't as 'us', Arizona. I know you're trying to ignore them, but we still have people watching us, waiting for us to give up the front. Everybody can see it! No matter how much you try to distance yourself away from me, you can't ignore the huge elephant in the room."

"You're impossible! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because I love you."

"Stop saying that!"

"Why? It's true. I love you, Arizona Robbins."

"Shut up, shut up!"

"No. I'm not shutting up. I'm not going away. Not this time. I've screwed things up with you way too many times in the past and I am not doing it again. I have this chance to make it right and do what I should have done in the first place. I should have never let you go and I should have fought for you. I shouldn't have let you go all those times that I did. But I'm here now. And I'm staying because I'm going to fight to make sure that you know I'm committed to this thing. I love you, Arizona. And all I'm asking for is one more chance."

"Why are you doing this to me?..." Arizona let out in a pained whisper.

"Because I am still in love with you and you are still in love with me. So come on, give us another chance."

Arizona opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. _BeepBeepBeep_. Saved by the pager though and she rushed off to where she was needed, leaving Callie to just watch her run away.

* * *

Just like she promised, Arizona stopped by after her shift to visit with Carlos for a bit before heading home. She texted Caitlin earlier in the day to meet her for dinner after her talk/argument with Callie. Their conversation was on her mind the rest of the day. Where did this sudden proclamation of love come from? Why did Callie decide to start fighting for them out of the blue? What was her situation with George? So many things were crossing her mind, but she also thought of someone who she really needed to talk to, Caitlin. Her loyal, loving girlfriend that stood to get seriously hurt in this sticky situation Arizona found herself in with Callie.

When she got home, she was greeted by Caitlin laid out on her couch watching some random movie that was on with a couple bags of take out on the coffee table in front of her. "Hey, Caitlin."

"Arizona! I hope you're in the mood for Chinese."

"Chinese sounds great. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. So how was your day? How's Carlos?"

"It was the standard day for a doctor I suppose. Not too exciting in that sense. Just a routine appendectomy and charting. But Carlos finally woke up from his coma and Derek says he should be okay pending any nerve damage."

"That's fantastic! I take it that Callie's over the moon about it?"

"Yeah, she's awesome. It's good to see her not so stressed out again. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Callie?"

"Yeah…"

"What about her?"

_It's now or never, Robbins_. "Well, I haven't been 100% truthful with you about her." Arizona could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes and her throat was starting to constrict a little.

"It's okay, baby. Just talk to me."

Having Caitlin be so patient and caring was making everything hurt more as Arizona took in a deep breath to start. "I know I told her that she was an old friend from med school, which is true, but I didn't tell you the whole truth about our relationship. We were together a long time ago and I was honestly in love with her." She paused and looked apologetically over to Caitlin, seeing her body tense hearing her words. "But it turned out that she was engaged to George, the son of her father's business partner. I was so hurt and betrayed that I left LA early and came up here to Seattle to clear my head and start my life over with my internship, but she followed me up here and she was persistent. I kept ignoring her as much as I could, but when my brother died, I really needed someone to be there for me, so I stopped shutting her out and let her be my friend. Then when she got married, she moved to San Francisco with George and we managed to stay friends after I met you. Things were easier to deal with with her being in a different city and I didn't have to face her and her _husband_ on a daily basis. I was okay, you know? I was happy with you and everything was alright. But then she shows up again here with Carlos and I just… It's too much for me to handle. All these old feelings just keep bubbling up to the surface and I'm not sure if I can handle them for much longer."

For the entire time Arizona was talking about her history with Callie, Caitlin sat there and listened attentively. Even though she had known pretty much what happened between the two from the hospital staff after Callie's arrival, it still hurt when Arizona started talking about her uncertainty about her feelings. "Have you done anything with her since she's been here?"

"What? No. Caitlin, I wouldn't cheat on you like that. You know me better than that."

"I'm sorry, it's just the first thing that pops into your head. The girl your girlfriend never got over comes into town and spends the night in their bed and everything, what was I supposed to think?"

"I know, but I promise I haven't cheated."

"Okay."

"But," Caitlin's look of panic returned to her face. "I don't want to have the chance of possibly cheating on you." Caitlin's face changed from panic to confusion. "I'm saying that we should go on a break. I need some time to think and maul over all these thoughts and feelings with having Callie back. I'm not saying that it's going to happen, but if something does end up happening with Callie, I don't want to end up betraying you in the process. I know what it's like to be cheated on and I would never want to put you through that."

Tears started rolling down her face and Caitlin couldn't do a thing to stop them. "No, no. You're right. You should- You should take some time to figure stuff out. I don't want you feeling tied down and unable to act on your feelings for Callie, whatever those feelings may be, on account of me."

"Come on, Caitlin. It's not like that at all."

"Oh yeah? Could have fooled me."

"I just… I need some time, okay? I need time away from both you right now. And I need to do it for real this time. I'm doing this for me, okay? I'm doing this so I can figure out what's going on with me and her. This isn't a cop out so I can go jump into bed with her, alright? It just doesn't feel right staying with you when I have all these uncertainties about another woman. I'm trying to do the right thing here. I'm sorry about all of this, okay? I never asked for her to come back here and screw everything up."

"I know you didn't, baby. I'm sorry. I just- It hurts. It hurts knowing that you're even questioning your feelings for me and her right now. I wish you could just push it away and choose me, but it's not that easy, I know. So I guess I'll go gather up my stuff and leave."

"No, you don't have to leave right away. You can still stay for dinner."

"I don't think that's really the best idea right now." Caitlin replied sadly, gathering her things and leaving Arizona's apartment.

* * *

The next few days, Arizona stayed away from Callie and Carlos as well. Seeing the Latina would just continue to make things more complicated and she truly needed the space she talked about with Caitlin. So far, she had been lucky, not running into Callie in the halls, elevator, cafeteria, or stairwells and she was relieved at having a chance to sort of clear her mind. Her luck ran out though when she spotted an angry Callie marching towards her in hallway.

"Arizona Robbins don't you dare turn away from me!"

Arizona froze and turned around to face a fuming Callie. "Calliope, I was just-"

"No, no. Don't you 'Calliope' me. You've been avoiding me. I tell you I still love you and you react like an immature kid and run away from me and hide every chance you get. What the hell, Arizona? We're not in high school! If you can't just admit your feelings, then tell me straight up. Don't play hide-and-go-seek like-"

Arizona yanked Callie into, coincidentally, 'their' on-call room and slammed her up against the door, effectively pinning her in place before capturing the full lips in front of her with her own. Arizona threw in all her emotions into the kiss which soon became extremely heated and full of passion. Arizona traced her tongue along Callie's bottom lip, waiting for her to accept the silent invite. Their tongues dueled for supremacy as Callie's hands began roaming around Arizona's body, wanting to feel more of her, needing to feel more of her. Her hands traveled from the golden blonde locks, down her to her shoulders then down her sides, passing over the slight swell of her breast, earning a groan from Arizona. She settled her hands on Arizona's hips, pulling her closer, needing to feel her as much as she could.

Arizona grabbed her hands though, much to Callie's dismay, away from her hips. Instead, she pinned them above Callie's head, which only turned the Latina on even more. All these years, all the moments where they almost gave in to their desires, all the pent up sexual frustration was being released here. Arizona left Callie's lips and started kissing over to her ear, nipping at the sensitive skin, her breath hot on Callie's already burning skin. She could do nothing but surrender herself to the feelings Arizona was stirring up inside her, pressing her up against the wall with her hands pinned above her head.

Arizona kept kissing down her neck until settling on her pulse point and alternated between sucking and nipping the spot causing Callie to throw her head back in pleasure. She was pretty sure Arizona was going to leave a mark, but at this point, she couldn't care less since the only thing she could concentrate on was Arizona's mouth doing exquisite things to her body while her hand was… Wait, where was her hand going? When Arizona right hand finally made it descent down Callie's body and ended up dancing along the waistband of Callie's pants, Callie knew she had to stop this. It nearly killed her since the only thing she wanted at that moment was to feel Arizona inside of her, bringing her to an extreme high that she had been missing for years, but this wasn't the time, nor place she wanted it to happen.

"Stop, stop…" She said breathlessly. "Arizona, you have to stop." She said a little stronger this time.

"Why? Do you not want me? This?"

"You couldn't be more wrong. I want you so incredibly bad right now, it's out of this world."

"Then why do you want me to stop?"

"This isn't right. Rough, on-call room sex is not how I want my first time back with you to be. Plus, I don't want you to do something that you'll regret later."

Arizona's bottom lip started quivering, a sign of her impending tears. "I'm so sorry, Calliope."

"No, no. It's okay. Don't apologize. I just want things to be right first, before we dive right back into this. But please, don't think that I don't want you. Because I want you. Really, really bad."

"No, I mean, I'm _sorry_. Calliope. A while ago, that first time at the park when we almost kissed, I had to make a choice. And ever since then, I've been pulled back and forth in this game of tug-o-war. You or Caitlin? You or Caitlin? You made it really clear the other day that you were in this to make it work." She paused and sadly looked up into Callie's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Calliope." She leaned and kissed her one more time, a sob continually threatening to escape from her lips. "But I choose Caitlin."

**First of all, I can't apologize enough for taking this long to write this chapter. I know that I'm horrible, but for those who have stuck around and are still with me, thank you so much for not giving up on me. I haven't forgotten about this story, it's just that life and school get in the way a lot. **

**The good news is, I AM DONE WITH MY FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE! I don't have to juggle a full class load anymore. Hurray! =]**

**Also, I felt the incredible need to stay up and finish this chapter because of how horrible the season finale was tonight. I felt that Shonda ripped us all off and so I was going to try to make it a tad more bearable by finally updating! Plus, this chapter is extra super long to try to compensate a little for my absence. **

**I'm rambling now, I apologize very muchly. And if that on-call room scene sucked too, I apologize for that as well. I'm still a newbie at this stuff over here! **

**Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think by dropping a line or two, yeah? It seriously makes my day to see such a high response from you guys. I write this for y'all so I would be nothing without my readers. Hello if you are a newbie just finding this fic of mine. Yell at me and push for me to update a million times faster this time. =D**

**~Rox**


	13. Chapter 13

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 13

[_Flashback_]

Callie made it a point to always be there for Arizona. The blonde never said anything, but she didn't protest Callie's constant presence either. They didn't talk; they didn't have to. Callie silently understood that her job was just to be there and comfort Arizona in any way she could.

It was as if Arizona was in a trance. She remained the consummate professional in the OR and with her patients and their families, but the moment she was away from all the prying eyes, she shut down. She didn't have a huge meltdown like Callie anticipated, but she was definitely no longer herself. She withdrew herself from her colleagues and wasn't her typical perky, social butterfly self.

The news of Timothy's death spread through Seattle Grace like a wildfire, staying true to its reputation. Everyone tried their best to console their favorite PEDs surgeon by offering words of encouragement, sending their condolences, and handing her an occasional gift here and there, but all Arizona did was weakly smile her thanks before assuring them that she was okay. The only person she didn't push away was, strangely enough, Callie. Even if she never said a word to the Latina, she took solace in knowing that there was someone familiar in a trying time like this. She didn't want to depend on her, but having Callie around made her feel safe and not alone. Her parents had insisted on flying out to her or having her come home to North Carolina, but Arizona put up the same front for her parents and told them it wasn't necessary; that she was fine.

Callie was the only one Arizona didn't bother to lie to. She wanted to push her away the day she found out about Timothy, but she couldn't find the strength in her to do so that day. Neither could she do it the next day nor the next day and soon days bled into weeks and weeks became months. Callie held Arizona in that stairwell the first day and allowed her to sob against her chest while she held her close and stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down. Arizona let Callie bring her home and take care of her. She didn't argue Callie making her eat some dinner and drink a hot cup of tea. She didn't argue Callie drawing her a warm bath and even though she should have, didn't argue when Callie picked up her loofah and applied her body wash on it before starting to wash across her shoulders. She should have shied away at being naked and vulnerable, alone in her home with her ex, but the familiarity of Callie's gentle touch put Arizona at ease. She didn't argue Callie wrapping her up in her towel and bringing her back to her bedroom. She didn't argue Callie sitting her down on her bed while watching her search her drawers for some comfortable sleeping clothes. She didn't argue Callie drying her off and lifting up one limb at a time to slide a piece of clothing over it. She didn't argue Callie brushing through her hair before tucking her in underneath her warm blankets. And despite her mind screaming at her to take control of the situation and stop it, she didn't argue when Callie slid up against her and wrapped her arms around Arizona's waist. She should have fought, she should have pushed Callie away and told her to get out, but at that moment she was just too exhausted to do anything other than snuggle into and accept Callie's warm embrace and drift off into a much needed sleep.

* * *

Callie always being around pretty much became routine for them. They became oddly inseparable considering they hardly ever talked. Arizona made it clear that she didn't want to be around other people and much rather preferred to be away from the hustle and bustle and curious stares and not-so-subtle whispers. So Callie made a conscious effort to isolate Arizona and herself in the fourth floor on-call room that they unofficially dubbed theirs, or on the rooftop on decent weathered days, or in a nearby park that held a hidden bench that sat atop a hill overlooking the Seattle skyline.

They had their lunch together, sat in the same room to do work on their charts together, took their breaks and had an occasional nap together, and often spent what little free time they had, together. If she couldn't scrub in with her, Callie always made sure she was sitting in the front row of the gallery so that Arizona could just look up to know that she was there. There was an unsaid agreement to wait for each other at the end of their shifts so that Callie could walk Arizona home and take care of her for the night. After the first few weeks, Arizona didn't need Callie constantly doing every little thing for her, but the nightly ritual was something she didn't want to stop. She loved having Callie walk her home and spend the night making sure she was okay. She loved falling asleep in Callie's loving arms and waking up knowing the Latina was still there.

Of course Callie asked the blonde how she was feeling and if she wanted to talk, but Arizona immediately closed herself up every time she did. So Callie decided to just continue being her strong support system and let Arizona come to her whenever she was ready to talk. Waiting around was gnawing at her though. She wanted some answers and to know how to better be there for her grieving love. She wanted to know what was going on in that pretty golden head of hers. But she never wanted to push her too hard in fear of breaking her down. It puzzled her though, why did Arizona rarely cry? She expected the waterworks since she knew how much Timothy meant to her and how much his death broke her heart. She was definitely sad; Arizona's eyes always seemed dull and lifeless and her dimples hardly ever showed much these days, but she was still rather held together pretty well.

Arizona had the day off, Callie didn't and she hated not being able to be around the blonde. She was visibly distracted and running around the hospital in a frenzy. It was a good thing she didn't have any major surgeries today because she wasn't sure if she'd have been able to go through with them. She avoided the PEDs wing like the plague, stayed away from their on-call room and the rooftop, and settled for the loud, populated areas of the hospital so she could drown out her thoughts with the noise.

She was fidgety and on-edge when Mark finally caught up with her in the cafeteria looking over a chart while constantly checking down at her pager and phone. "Worried about Blondie?"

Callie looked up at Mark and couldn't help but let out a huge sigh. "I can't help it, Mark. I mean, I know that she's tried being strong throughout this whole thing, but I know it's only a matter of time before she breaks. And I want to be there for her when it happens."

"You need to take it easy on yourself, Torres. You've been there for Blondie day and night ever since her brother died. She'll be okay without you for one day."

"I still don't like the idea of leaving her at home by herself."

"Oh, so you two are shacking up now?"

"Can it, Mark. This isn't a time for your jokes."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. But seriously, what's the deal with you two? You practically live at her apartment now that you're calling it 'home' and never leaving her side. Not to mention you're the only one she'll allow near her for more than a minute unless it's work related. I don't get it. Before Timothy, she wouldn't even give you the time of day and now you're like BFFs?"

"It's really complicated. I just wish she'd talk to me so we can figure this out."

"Wait a second, you're essentially living with her, spending all your time with her, and you two don't talk? How is that even possible?"

"I told you it was really complicated, Mark."

"Then uncomplicate it for me."

"Ugh, you're relentless about this Arizona thing. Fine, I'll tell you, but not in here. I don't want this entire hospital knowing about my private life before I even leave the building to go back to Arizona tonight."

"And statements like that won't help you any, Torres."

"Shut up, Mark. Now follow me if you want to know the real story."

* * *

Callie led Mark over to her and Arizona's on-call room, knowing that it would probably be empty since everyone knew that the duo had claimed it to be theirs and left it unoccupied as much as possible for the blonde. She fell down onto one of the beds and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to figure out where to even start. "Okay, here's the deal: once I tell you about Arizona and me, you have to swear that you will never utter a single word about to another soul, do you understand?"

"Wow, this is some serious stuff, huh? What'd you two do? Commit some perfect murder or something?"

"I said, _do you understand_?"

"Yes, I understand. I promise."

"And you can't let Arizona know that you know either."

"Aww, well that's no fun," Mark whined, but immediately shut his mouth when Callie shot him a death glare. "Okay, okay. No letting Blondie know that I know anything. Gotcha."

"Arizona and I… She…" Callie let out a big sigh. _This is harder than I thought_. "Okay, I love her. And not in that, 'you're my best friend' kind of way either. I mean that I'm _in_ love with her. Before she came up here to start her residency, we were together during medical school down in LA. Well, at least that was until she found out about George and ran away from me to get a fresh start. I hurt her, Mark. I hurt her so bad when I lied and never told her about George or about not telling the truth about our relationship to my family. I transferred here to UW because I needed to get her back. I needed to apologize and not let her have the last memory of us be her kicking me out of our apartment. I love Arizona more than I've ever loved anyone else in my life. She's all I could ever want in a person and more. The love I have for her is not a lie. She might think it is because of this whole engagement situation, but I've never felt anything so real, so true. So I let her be angry at me. I let her not give me the time of day. I let her give me the cold shoulder and shrug me off as much as she wants. I let her scream at me and give me all the death glares she wants to throw my way, but I never let her push me away. I deserve it. I deserve all of it and I take it because I know that one of these days, she'll actually talk to me. Until then, I just have to wait until she's done being angry and ready to talk to me."

"So does her letting you take care of her mean that she's forgiven you?"

"I honestly don't know. She doesn't fight my constant presence, but she doesn't exactly welcome me with open arms either. I think she's just comfortable knowing that someone is there and cares for her. Someone who she knows, even if it's me. I know that I broke her heart and left her in a bad place by not being honest with her, so I want to make this right. I want to be there for her no matter what. I want her to know that she can lean on me and that I'll always be there for her even if she doesn't want me to be. I'm taking care of her because I still love her and she's still everything to me. I'm okay with her not talking to me yet because I know that it's still really painful for her to think about what I've done. But I will not let her be alone during this."

"You're a really good person, Callie. Arizona's lucky to have someone who cares about her like you do in her life."

"No, Mark, no. _I'm_ the lucky one."

* * *

The rest of her shift was rather uneventful. A couple consults and casting here and there and the seemingly endless about of paperwork. Callie couldn't wait to get out of the hospital and check on Arizona. She rushed back to Arizona's apartment and knocked a few times on the door, not wanting to just barge into her home. When she didn't get a response from Arizona, she used the spare key Arizona handed her one day and let herself in. Darkness filled the living room and kitchen and that did nothing to calm Callie's nerves. There was a muffled noise coming from the direction of Arizona's bedroom and if she strained to hear, Callie could make out the sound of sobs and sniffles.

She immediately made her way over to the bedroom and found Arizona curled up in a corner of the bed with a pillow clutched tightly against her and tissues strewn all across the bed. "Oh no, Arizona? Arizona, what's wrong?"

The blonde looked up at her with red, tear filled eyes and tear marks streaked down her face that just about broke Callie's heart. "I-I-ca-ca-can't st-sst-stop crying." Arizona barely hiccupped out. "T-Tim-moth-Timothy is gone and I-I can't st-stop crying."

"Shh, come here, come here," Callie said as she schootched over to where Arizona was and wrapped her up in a hug. "It's okay. I'm here now. Just let it out."

Arizona continued crying for a while longer and Callie just held her tightly as she did. Eventually the sobs became less frequent and Arizona managed to gather herself up a little to try talking to Callie again. She looked up into the deep brown eyes and could see that Callie was going to open her mouth to say something. "Don't. Please, please just don't say anything."

Callie closed her mouth and just looked sympathetically over at Arizona. "Okay."

"I'm just exhausted. My parents, bless their souls, are exhausting. What happened to Timothy and you… Hating you is the most exhausting." Arizona leaned her head back down on Callie's shoulder and took a calming breath before finishing her thought. "And I don't want to do it anymore."

* * *

The breakdown that night was what Callie was waiting for. She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but she had hoped that it would be a turning point for Arizona. Sure, Arizona changed after that night, but it definitely was not for the better. She no longer relied on Callie for every little thing and started talking to other people in the hospital again. She had even told Callie that it wasn't necessary for her to spend the night and take care of her anymore. Callie wanted to protest, she wanted to insist on Arizona letting her be there, but she cautiously backed away and granted Arizona her wishes and gave the blonde the space she wanted.

Just because they didn't spend every moment together like they had before, didn't mean that Callie didn't keep a close eye on Arizona. She watched her talk up the nurses and other good looking doctors, laughing to herself as they turned to goo from the Robbins charm. She followed her to the bar whenever she was told the blonde was there and simply sat back in the shadows to make sure Arizona was okay. Some nights, Arizona had a date with her and Callie couldn't help the jealousy that coursed through her veins. She knew that she shouldn't feel that way considering she was the one who screwed everything up, but that didn't mean she was going to sit back and enjoy watching the woman she loved 'get friendly' with another woman.

Most nights, Arizona was able to control herself and keep the alcohol consumption and wild behavior to a minimum. But there were some nights where Arizona got crazy and totally wasted within a couple hours of her first drink. It was those nights that worried Callie and she tried stepping in and telling Arizona that she had had enough and that it was time to go home, but Arizona fought her off and yelled that Callie wasn't her mother and to leave her alone.

So Callie, once again, granted her her wish and left her alone. She watched as week after week Arizona would walk into Joe's bar and leave with a different girl on her arm without fail. She wasn't sure what was going on with Arizona. She didn't know if this were some type of coping mechanism or a way to numb the pain or a way to distract herself from her present reality, but Callie didn't like it one bit. She knew she had no right to get into Arizona's business, but she couldn't just stand by and watch someone she truly cares about go down the dangerous path Arizona was currently venturing down.

At first she tried being nice about it. She attempted to pull Arizona off to the side and bring up her recent promiscuity, but Arizona always managed to shrug her off and told her not to worry about it, that she had everything under control. She let it go every single time because she didn't want to crowd and pester Arizona when it was clear that she wanted to be left alone, but enough was enough. She followed Arizona into the stairwell after witnessing her sneak out of an on-call room that she probably just fucked her current flavor of the week in. "What is wrong with you?" Callie all but shouted at her as she ascended a flight of stairs.

Arizona froze mid-step and spun around to meet Callie fiery gaze. "What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't notice? You think that I'm blind? You think that I don't hear it from every doctor in this goddamn hospital? What happened to you, Arizona? Since when did you start sleeping with every female that moves?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Are you seriously asking that question? I was there for you when you could hardly even make yourself get up in the morning. I was there for you to make sure that you ate, bathed, got dressed, and made it work every day. I was there for you when you pushed everyone else away. I was there for you when you were so broken that you wouldn't even say a word the entire day. I was there for you when you closed yourself off from the world. It matters to me because I care about you and I worked so hard to make sure you stayed on your feet after Timothy died. If he could see you right now, he'd be so ashamed of you!"

Callie's words stung, but Arizona fought to maintain a calm, collected front. "I never should have let you get close to me again."

"No, you know what? It's fine. I'm glad that I know now what kind of person you are. You really get around."

"What did you just say to me?"

"So is anything a phase? Who's next? Nurse Olivia? Cause I hear she likes to sleep around."

"You don't get to call me a whore. When I met you, I thought I had found the person that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I was done. So all the girls and all the bars and all my attachment issues, who cared? Because I was done. You lied to me. You chose George and your promises and commitments. I'm putting myself back together now. I make no apologies for how I choose to repair what you broke. You don't get to call me a whore."

Callie held Arizona's stare and clenched her jaw. "What this was between us, it's finished. It's over."

"Finally."

"Yeah, it's done."

"It _is_ done."

Callie turned away and pushed past Arizona the rest of the way up the stairs and nearly ran once she was out of the stairwell to their on-call room, not even making it to a bed, as she slid down the door the moment she shut it and collapsed into a heap on the floor, letting the sobs finally escape from her lips.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Before Arizona took off from the on-call room, she hastily removed the necklace she had been given all those years ago and placed it in Callie's palm as a hot trail of tears burned down her face. Callie stood there, speechless, stunned, confused, shocked; _what in the world just happened? _For a moment, Callie thought she had dreamt the whole thing. There was no way that Arizona pulled her into an on-call room, _their_ on-call room, and pushed her up against the door, ravishing her and only a few moments away slipping her hand into Callie's pants…except she was. Her swollen lips, pulsing heart, and throbbing center were all signs of what Arizona did to her mere minutes ago and it all infuriated her.

What if she hadn't stopped her when she had? What if she allowed Arizona to take her and do what she's only dreamed of for so long? What if she said to hell with her inhibitions and morals and still had Arizona get up, choose Caitlin, and walk away? What was Arizona thinking? She couldn't just avoid Callie for days and then nearly fuck her up against a door the first time she saw her again.

So far, Callie had been patient and understanding about Arizona being reluctant in trusting and talking to her again. She understood that it would be difficult to see her and spend time with her again. She understood that she wouldn't be as receptive of her as she wanted. But this, this drew the line. Arizona was leading her on, possibly giving her hope where there wasn't any. For years, Arizona preached about being an honorable woman; whenever you make promises and commitments, you honor them. But what was this spontaneous move? As far as she knew, Arizona was still with Caitlin and what they were doing, especially what they were about to do, definitely constituted as cheating.

Whatever was going on in the blonde's head, she was going to figure it out because these mind games they were playing with each other couldn't go on any longer. Not if they both didn't want to hurt all parties involved even more than they already had.

* * *

For the next few weeks, Arizona had perfected evading the Torres room and floor for that matter. She threw herself into her work and spent many nights in her office or research lab, nose book-deep into medical journals and other materials hoping to find something useful for her research thesis on, what she was hoping was, a new pediatric breakthrough. She kept her mind focused on her work. Surgery, rounds, consults, and research was all she knew for days as she made her mind focus on something either than Callie and Caitlin. She still hadn't let Caitlin know that she picked her because she still needed some time to figure out if that's what she really wanted.

Caitlin is a good, wholesome girl. She is the type of girl you are proud to bring home to meet your parents because you know she will blow them away. She is the type of girl that will always be there for you no matter what and will always sacrifice her happiness for yours. She'll let you watch whatever movies and TV shows you like without any complaints. She'll make you dinner and snuggle up on the couch with you when you've had a bad day. She'll let you choose what you want to do for date night and make a decision for you when you can't pick. She'll pick you up when you're at your lowest and build you back piece by piece. She will get to know you and never pry about your past unless you're willing to open up about it. She won't ever lie to or betray you. She is the type of girl who will hold your heart in her hands and treasure it forever. She is the type of girl that balances out all the cruel and terrible things in the world. She is the type of girl that when you have her, you hold her tight and never let go. She is the type of girl who would never leave you and break your heart. In so many ways, Caitlin is the perfect girlfriend. In so many ways, Caitlin is the woman anyone would be lucky to spend the rest of their lives with. In so many ways, Caitlin should be Arizona's one. But she wasn't. No matter how much she wanted it, Caitlin couldn't fill that void in Arizona's heart and put back that missing piece to her puzzle.

Arizona hated that instead, she was still in love with a stubborn, fiery, _married_ Latina who did nothing but break her heart. She hated that no matter how much time passed, her heart still yearned for Callie. She hated that she built herself back up just to have Callie come knocking it all back down the moment she walked back into her life. She hated that she didn't have the strength to ignore Callie and the way she affected her. She hated that Callie stirred up so much uncertainty in her when she previously thought she was happy. Why couldn't she just be happy with Caitlin? Why couldn't she just be happy with the woman who never let her down and picked her when she was shattered into pieces? Why did she still want Callie despite all the pain she's put her through? But she made a decision. She was going to protect her heart and go with the safer choice by picking Caitlin. She hoped that in time, she would grow to love the beautiful soul of the heartwarmingly kind woman and that it would be enough to forget about the passionate heart of the love of her life.

No, this weekend, Arizona was going to take Caitlin on a spontaneous weekend getaway and reassure herself that she was making the right decision.

* * *

"So, no Arizona again today I see."

"I've already told you a million times, Daddy. I don't know where she is or why she hasn't come by to visit. I didn't do anything to upset her or push away. I've tried talking to her, but she's been the master at hiding from me. I haven't see her since the day you woke up from your coma, okay?"

"The day you came back here with a hickey on your neck." Callie pursed her lips into a thin line, not knowing how to react to her father noticing the mark Arizona left on her neck after their on-call room rendezvous. "Relax, mija. I may be old, but I'm not blind and oblivious. I know that she caused that mark. I just want to know why she hasn't been by to say hi ever since then."

"She chose her girlfriend."

"What?"

"She chose her girlfriend over me. I told her I loved her. That I'm still in love with her and she kisses me. She kisses me and sets my body on fire, but she turns around and chooses her girlfriend. I honestly don't know what's going on or how this all happened, but she chose her girlfriend over me." Callie hadn't even realized that tears were starting to form in her eyes and spill over. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but I love her. I love her so much that it's killing me. I've been absolutely miserable in a marriage I never wanted for almost three years now. George is a great guy. Mr. O'Malley raised a good boy, but I don't love him. I haven't loved anyone except for Arizona for as long as I've known her. And I know this isn't what you want to hear because you told me to break it off with her, but I can't help the way I feel. I can't help that she's the love of my life and the holder of my heart. I can't help that she's all I've thought about for years. I'm sorry that I've disappointed you, but I just can't do this anymore. I need to live _my_ life now and I can't let her slip away from me again."

"I agree."

"Please don't ar- Wait, what?"

"I said I agree with you, Calliope. I know that you love Arizona. I know that she's your everything. I know that it broke your heart when you couldn't be with her. I know that she's a fantastic girl who loves you. I know that your heart belonged to her ever since you first brought her home to meet us. You'll never meet another girl like that, Calliope. You only have one great love like that in your lifetime and you have to chase it."

"Wha-where is this all coming from?"

"I've been a stubborn man. I've turned the other cheek at your unhappiness over the years in hopes that you'd soon forget about Arizona and learn how to be happy with George. I was hoping that it was just a phase, as clichéd as that sounds. But when you truly fall in love with someone, when you finally find your soulmate, you'll never get over it."

"Thank you so much for that, Daddy."

"You're welcome my Calliope. I'm just sorry that I never told you sooner."

"I'm just glad that you finally told me. But what do I do now? How can I prove to her that I'm serious this time? I love her and I can't lose her again."

"I think you know what you have to do, Calliope."

* * *

The weekend getaway was a bust. Sure, Arizona and Caitlin had fun, but Arizona didn't feel that spark, have that lightbulb in her head flash on, like she was hoping for. That didn't go unnoticed by Caitlin. If she was going to be honest, she was surprised when Arizona showed up at her door and told her that she was taking her away for the weekend. She was certain the blonde was going to choose Callie that she spent a lot of their time away from each other preparing for the worst.

Arizona was sweet and caring, but Caitlin could tell it was forced, like Arizona was willing herself to feel for her. That was what prompted her for this hospital visit a couple days after they got back. Arizona had been staying at her apartment, giving them ample time to talk, so Caitlin knew that Arizona had a huge surgery today that would have her in the OR for most of the day. This gave her the perfect opportunity to talk to Callie without the fear of being caught by Arizona.

Caitlin roamed the familiar halls and came to a stop at Carlos' room. She knocked and proceeded to enter the room slowly, disappointed to find no Callie in sight. "May I help you?" Carlos asked, clearly puzzled by the mystery guest.

"I'm sorry. I was just looking for Callie, is she around?"

"Yeah, she just went down to the cafeteria to grab some food. She should be back soon. And you are?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Caitlin. Caitlin Thomas."

"Ah, nice to meet you Caitlin. I'm Carlos Torres, Calliope's father. May I ask how you know my Calliope?"

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Torres. And I actually don't really 'know' Callie. I'm Arizona's girlfriend."

"Oh, is that right?"

"Yes sir."

Before either could get another word in, Callie walked in through the door way. "Man, you'd think that after all these years they'd find a way to make the food not suck so- Caitlin! Umm, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you if you had a minute."

"Oh, umm, sure. I'll meet you outside in just a second."

"Okay. Nice meeting you meeting you, Mr. Torres."

"And you, Ms. Thomas." Carlos waited until Caitlin was out of the room before addressing his daughter. "She's a nice girl."

"That she is."

"I can see why Arizona would be with a girl like her."

"Hey, whose side are you on?"

"Yours, mija. Of course, yours. I'm just saying."

"Mhmm, whatever you say, Daddy. I'm going to go see what she wants, okay?"

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?" Callie asked when Caitlin led them to an empty patient room.

"You know what I want to talk about."

"Umm, clearly I wouldn't ask you if I already knew."

"Don't be smart with me, Callie."

"Caitlin, it's not like I can read your mind or something, so you should just tell me."

"It's about Arizona."

"What about her?"

"Ugh, stop playing dumb with me!"

"I'm not playing dumb with you. I'm just trying to figure out what you want to talk about."

"You need to leave her alone."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me! I want you to stay away from my girlfriend. You hear that? _My_ girlfriend. I've tried so hard for so long to just be patient and let Arizona react to having you back here to Seattle. But enough is enough. I'm generally a really nice person, but a girl can only take so much before she has to fight back. Ever since you've been back, Arizona has changed. Our relationship has changed. She was okay, she was finally happy with me and you just had to come waltzing in to ruin all of that for us. Arizona is not the kind of woman you let go if you can help it. You know as well as anyone how easy it is for fall for her. I know that you two have this big, huge history, but I'm asking you to walk away. Walk away from her and give me back my girlfriend. She asked to go on a break because she needed to figure out her feelings a few weeks ago and she finally came back to me, but I can tell that something is different. I can tell that she's trying to force herself to want to be with me. I don't want her to have to try. I want her to know that she wants to be with me. And she can't do that if you're here, reminding her of the past. So please, woman-to-woman, give me back my girlfriend."

Hearing the vulnerability and pain laced in Caitlin's voice almost made Callie want to throw in the towel and surrender, but she had to stay strong and fight for what she wanted. "I can't do that…" Callie said softly. "I can't do that because I'm still in love with her. You said it yourself, Arizona is not the kind of woman you let go if you can help it. I know that I've screwed up in the past and let her go, but I'm not letting it happen this time. I'm here for her and I'm staying this time. I'm choosing her over everything else in my life because I still love her and I know that she still loves me. You're an amazing girl, Caitlin and I can't thank you enough for being there and picking Arizona back up when I left her the last time, but I can assure you that it won't happen again."

"No, no! It's not fair. You can't break her heart, have me fix it, and then come back and break it all over again. I will make sure of it!"

"I'm not here to break her heart, Caitlin. I'm here to finally make it whole again. You know as well as I do that wanting her to love you will never be enough for the both of you. It's the best she can do, but it won't be enough. You deserve so much more than that. You deserve someone who will make you their world. You deserve someone who knows that they love you and don't have to make themselves feel that way. You deserve someone who can give you so much more than what Arizona can."

"But I love her…"

"I know. I know you do and I am _so_ sorry. But I'm not backing down."

* * *

A few days later, Arizona was still avoiding Callie and trying to make it work with Caitlin. But Caitlin seemed to distance herself from Arizona and always claim exhaustion to get herself out of having to face or talk to the blonde. She wondered what was going on with her, but she was so busy at work recently that she didn't have the chance to talk with her. But she made it a note to figure out what was going on later.

She was in her office looking over a case file when there was knock on her door. "Come in!" she bellowed, however was shocked to see Callie standing here. "Oh, umm, hi, Callie. I'm kind of busy here at the moment, so now might not be a good time."

"Now would be a great time actually."

"It's just that I have a lot to do and-"

"Stop talking. It's my turn to talk this time." Callie stopped and waiting until she had Arizona's full, undivided attention before going on. "I love you. I have always loved you and I will never stop loving you."

"Callie, I-"

"I said no talking! I'm still in love with you and I know that you're still in love with me. I should be mad at you for that stunt you pulled in the on-call room, but I can't make myself be mad at you. You're the one I am destined to be with for the rest of my life. Not George, and not some other person out there. And I am the one who was made for you. You are meant to be with me. Not Caitlin, not any other girl you've dated the past few years, _me_. I'm sorry that I hurt you in the past. I'm sorry that I walked away and let you go. But that was then and this is now. I'm here to stay and I'm here to fight for you. I couldn't live with myself if I were to leave Seattle and not try to make things right. I messed up and you have every right not to trust me, but all I'm asking for is another chance. Another chance at us, another chance to make it right."

"Callie, I've told you already that I chose Caitlin. Now, I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear, but I've made my decision."

"No, you see, that's the problem. You're choosing the safe road. You know that Caitlin would never hurt you. She's a nice girl who was there for you and helped you get back on your feet. She's the easy pick, the one who won't break your heart. But you can't just take the easy road out. Sure, you'll be safe with Caitlin, but you won't ever feel alive like you do with me. I know that you can't trust me yet and I know that I'm a danger to you and your heart, but you can't fight fate. You and I are meant for each other, Arizona. No matter how safe and protected you feel, nothing can rival our love."

"God, why can't you just accept it and leave me alone? What do you want me to say?"

"I can't leave you alone because I know it's not what you want. Just tell me how you really feel."

"You want to know how I really feel?" Callie nodded. "Fine. I never got over you, okay? Happy now? You are the love of my life, but you're constantly leaving me. You're always leaving me and breaking my heart. I'm scared that if I give you another chance, you'll just do the same things over and over. And I'm not sure I can go through that heart break again. The only reason I got through it was because Caitlin was there to pick me up and put me back together. If I choose you, I'll lose her and if you hurt me again, I won't have her there to hold me up. I love you, too. I've never stopped loving you. I never stopped wishing you'd come back for me. I never stopped wishing I was finally worth it for you. I never stopped hoping that I'd see you again. That I'd be able to look into your eyes, melt at your smile, be enveloped in your warm embrace… I have missed you so much and I never stopped wishing that I could have you back. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Callie just slightly nodded her answer before handing Arizona an envelope. "What's this?"

"It's my divorce papers. They were finally finalized just a few hours ago actually. I'm serious about this, about us. I love you and I'm here to stay. The ball is in your court now, Arizona."

**Can I just say WOW to all response I got from the last chapter? I simply cannot thank you guys enough for being the best readers ever! A few of you told me that you were new to the story and read the whole thing through in one sitting while a few others told me that they have been following this story from the start. **

**For all of you who are new, I am extremely flattered that you have taken the time to read this through and give me a comment on what you thought so far. And for those who have been there since the beginning and are still reading and loving it…Wow. That is probably one of the greatest compliment I could probably get. **

**So I want to know where you fall. If you're new and just read through this, I want to know what you think so far. If you've been with me since the start, I want to know if you're still reading and loving it and why. What makes you want to keep reading and I also want to know what you think. There has to be a reason why you've stuck with me for so long, right? And if you fall in the middle, well, I still want to know what you think too! Your opinion definitely matters just as much!**

**I managed to get this one together rather quickly I think for the length and everything. I attribute it to being a motivated, happy writer. You know what makes writers happy and motivated? Reviews! So in short, I guess reviews can possibly get you faster updates. =P**

**I hope you all loved this. Sorry for my excessively long A/N,**

**Rox**

**P.S. Yes, I stole MerDer lines. They just seemed to work perfectly here for me. **

**P.P.S. It's like 6 in the morning now for me and I can't believe I stayed up all night finishing this chapter! I probably just screwed up my sleep pattern for good, but it's probably worth it if you guys loved it. Please be worth it!**


	14. Chapter 14

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 14

[_Flashback_]

After their confrontation in the stairwell, the two were extremely awkward and full of tension. Everyone was confused at the sudden change between the two who were inseparable just a few days before. It was like back in high school when your friends broke up and you had to choose whose side you were on. It never got _too_ ugly; there weren't any screaming matches or physical fights, but there were enough snarky tones and death glares between the two to make their closer friends uncomfortable.

Mark was the ever-loyal friend and stuck to Callie's side. He listened to her rant to him about how irresponsible and inconsiderate Arizona was being. He listened to her yell about how much she hated the blonde for being so stubborn and ridiculous. He listened to her scream her frustrations about how all she wanted was to be there as a support system and make sure her friend was okay and then have Arizona scream at her in the stairwell be her thanks. But he also listened to her cry about how much she missed the PEDs resident and how much seeing her every day was breaking her heart. They were having lunch in the cafeteria when Mark noticed Callie staring out in Arizona's direction again. "You're staring again."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. Why don't you just talk to her?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

"Here we go again with the _it's complicated_ crap, Cal. I know that I may not really understand your relationship with Blondie over there or all your 'chick' drama, but you can talk to me. That's what friends do, right? They talk to each other about stuff that's bothering them."

"Sometimes I regret having that heart-to-heart with you," Callie said with a slight chuckle and smirk, finally tearing her eyes away from Arizona and redirecting her full attention back to Mark. "I don't have a right to be mad." Mark opened up his mouth to protest, but Callie was quick to cut him off. "I don't have a right to be mad because Arizona's right. I don't get to have a say in her life anymore. If screwing around and sleeping with any woman who throws themselves at her is how she wants to cope, then who am I to say she can't? When we were together we talked about how she didn't get attached to people and kept most of the women she slept with a one night stand or short fling type of deal. She took a risk when she got with me and I messed it all up. I broke her heart and she didn't deserve any of it. I think it's great that she's getting back out there and talking to people again instead of just hiding out in her apartment or on-call rooms or rooftops. I think it's great that she's talking to people again and throwing herself back into the social world, but I wish she would be a little more cautious, you know? Sleeping around won't solve any of her problems, you should know that better than anyone. I get that she's hurting and the un-attached sex helps her to block out the pain, but it's just not healthy for her. Physically and mentally."

"Hey, don't start comparing me and my problems to your never-ending problems with Blondie!" Mark joked. But once again he could see that Callie wasn't in the mood for his attempts at humor. "You were a lot more fun when you were calling me a manwhore and yelling at me for being an ass. At least back then I was able to joke around with you."

Mark's hurt look caused Callie to lighten up a little and feel a little sympathy for the guy. He was right. She was a handful lately with all her emotionally draining problems with Arizona and she leaned on him constantly to get through her day without being a very good friend to him in return. "I'm sorry, Mark. I know that you're trying your best with me and I really don't mean to bite your head off when I snap at you."

"Why don't you tell me how you _really _feel?"

"I'm still in love with her. I'm still in love her even if she's decided to sleep around with a bunch of other women. I'm still in love her even if she won't talk to me. I'm still in love her even if she can't even look at me. I'm still in love her even though it's tearing me apart to have to spend another day in this stupid fight. I'm still in love with her despite everything that just keeps going wrong with us. I just…I can't stop loving her."

"Then stop spilling your heart out to me and go tell her that."

* * *

Callie couldn't pick a good time to get Arizona alone and tell her the truth about how she felt. The blonde still gave her evil stares whenever she tried approaching her and just stormed off before they could get a conversation started. It was very much like when Callie first started working at Seattle Grace again. She was getting frustrated at Arizona's immature behavior, but she held her ground and patiently waited for the storm to pass.

Today could be her chance though because she was stuck on a PEDs rotation with Arizona and the current PEDs attending. Arizona was doing her best to hand her off to every other superior doctor she could other than herself and up until now, she had been fairly successful at it. Arizona was trying to be sneaky and alternate being apathetic and angered towards Callie by always leaving her last for the daily assignments of her interns and having her back halfway turned on her way to start her day when she'd shout over her shoulder who Callie was with that day. She tried getting Callie on ortho rotations as much as she could without seeming too suspicious or that she cared for her because she remembered how passionate Callie was about orthopedics back in med school. So in a way, it was a win-win for the both of them in that Callie got to learn about her potential future specialty and Arizona was able to keep the Latina away from her. But her luck ran out when the Chief inquired why Callie hadn't had any PEDs rotations in close to two months now and demanded that Arizona get her act together and fix it, soon.

The three of them, Callie, Arizona, and the head of PEDs, Dr. Kenley, were up on the PEDs floor looking over a chart to discuss the course of treatment they were to pursue for their young patient when the sound of beepers filled the air. Everyone looked down to check their pagers and saw the "Lockdown" message flash on their screens before panic quickly ensued. "Everyone. Everyone!" Dr. Kenley called out to calm the staff.

Pandemonium was quickly building and Arizona felt the need to step up and control the situation before things got way out of hand. She rushed to get everyone's attention to attempt to calm the panic again. "We're sealing the floor. I don't know why and it doesn't matter why, but no one goes in or out past the double doors. You check on your own patients and then you come back and check and see if there's others in the NICU. We don't have a lot of hands on deck. And people, do _not_ alert the makers of the tiny humans. They will eat you alive."

Everyone went off in their own directions to follow Arizona's instructions leaving the three doctors there at the nurse's station. "Thank you, Dr. Robbins. You did a fine job handling that situation."

"Well I had to take control of my department. I mean, _your_ department, sir."

Dr. Kenley let out a little chuckle. "No, you're right, Dr. Robbins. You stepped up and became their leader. You'll soon be the head of this department and I couldn't be more excited to see such a talented surgeon make her rise to the top. You're the future of PEDs, ." Dr. Kenley gave her a smile before heading off to check on his own patients.

Callie couldn't help but smile herself at the praise Arizona was getting from Dr. Kenley. "He's right, you know. You were amazing over there and you really are the future of PEDs."

"Whatever." Arizona brushed her off before going to check on the progress of the staff, leaving a disheartened Callie in her wake.

* * *

Everyone was in the process of moving kids who were well enough to the play room so that they could monitor all the patients better by having them all in one place. In their rush to do that as quickly as possible, Callie and Arizona almost ran the wheelchairs they were pushing into one another's. "Hey, watch it!" Arizona exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry," Callie quickly apologized. She let out a tired sigh when she saw who it was. "I thought we were going to be at least friends."

"You want to talk about this now? We're on lockdown, moving kids, God knows what's happening, and you want to talk about this?"

"Well we're stuck here and we have to be together, so yeah. I want to talk about this."

"Okay, fine. I tried being okay with you being around again; rising above. I tried that and now I'm over it. I'm going to go the more traditional route of totally hating your guts again."

After putting their kids into the play room, they went back out to the hallway to see if there were anymore that needed transporting. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I was there for you when you closed yourself off after Timothy and I stayed with you to make sure that you were okay. I have let you treat me like crap because I know that you're still angry and hurt. I just stepped aside and let you throw punch after punch, but enough is enough, okay? I have treated you with nothing but respect and love since I've been here and all you do is shove it back in my face. You can't just keep treating me like garbage for the next few years."

"Ha, watch me."

"Arizona, come on! When will what I do ever be enough for you?"

"Excuse me! Dr. Robbins…" One of other interns called out to her with Arizona's appendectomy patient rolling along side her. "Her appendix…" She motioned an exploding-like message to tell Arizona that the girl's appendix burst and she needed surgery immediately.

"Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Umm… I need to operate on her now! Is there any way we can get her to an OR?"

"We can't, Arizona. We're on lockdown. You said it yourself earlier, no one goes in or out."

"Ugh!" She exclaimed. She started pacing around, desperately racking her mind for a plan. "I guess I just have to do it here."

"Are you serious? Right here?"

"I don't have any other choice. Callie, I need you to go prepare a room and make it as sterile as possible. Ruby needs this surgery right now if we're going to save her."

* * *

Despite the impromptu set-up, so far the surgery was going smoothly. They couldn't get an anesthesiologist on the floor to completely put the little girl, Ruby, under, so they resorted to just using a local anesthetic and draping her so she couldn't see what was going on. Callie was in charge of holding the drape and distracting Ruby so she wouldn't start panicking. There was a close call though when Ruby started squirming about and Callie had to start singing to her to calm her down. They got over that road bump and now Arizona was wrapping up the last bits of the surgery while watching Callie interact with Ruby and smiling beneath her mask at their conversation. Her smile dropped though when she noticed Callie's face pale and eyes widen while looking towards the door. "Ruby… I need you to be a very good girl right now and stay facing the wall. Can you do that for me?"

"Why? What's going on Dr. Torres?"

"Just listen to me, alright? I need you to stay facing the wall." She gave the girl a nod as she slowly stood up and inched her way towards Arizona.

Arizona looked back to see a man leaning against the doorframe with a gun in one hand while holding his other hand up to what appeared to be an injury to his abdomen. Arizona's first instinct was to immediately drape herself over the child and get her out of harm's way as best as she could. "There are only children here!" she called out.

Callie saw the fear in Arizona's eyes and listened to her chant over and over, _there are only children here_, and knew she had to do something. She couldn't let this man harm Arizona or that child on the table so she continued making her way over to him. "Mr. umm?..."

"Clark. Gary Clark."

"Mr. Clark, umm, here are some bandages… Press them to the wound…it'll stop the bleeding. Okay?" She reached out to offer the bandages to Mr. Clark, who was obviously the shooter and reason for the lockdown, trying her best to maintain her composure. "Take them," she placed the bandages onto his outstretched hand. "Take them and go."

"Thank you," was all he said before he stepped out of the room, leaving the terrified surgeons to tend to the even more terrified child.

Ruby immediately yelled out, _I want my mommy_!, the moment Callie shut the door and started crying out of fear. Callie looked over to see that Arizona had tears of her own running down her face and the look of terror was still plastered on. She took a deep breath to try to calm her own racing heart and gather herself before trying to soothe the screaming child. "Alright, okay. I know, I know. I know you do and she's going to be back soon. But you know what? Until she gets here, you have the best doctor in the whole world with you right now. Yeah, Dr. Robbins is the _best _doctor in this entire hospital! I-I think in the whole world! Yeah, people feel so much better after she helps them. Sometimes, people feel better, just, after she walks into a room cause… She has got this _super magic smile_ , yeah, and when she smiles at you, everything gets better." Callie finally looked over at Arizona and locked eyes with the pediatric surgeon and in that moment, everything that happened between the two of them in the past couple years didn't exist. It was just Callie and Arizona, looking into each other's souls and feeling the love they had for one another. In that moment, it was just the two of them and nothing else mattered. "You don't know it because a mask is covering her face right now, but she is giving you… Wow, she is giving you her _best __super magic smile_. Isn't that right, Dr. Robbins?"

"Right. I am, Ruby. I am." Callie reached over and cupped Arizona cheek, brushing away stray tears and couldn't help but lean into her touch. "I'm good. I'm good, you go call the police and tell them what happened. Ruby and I will be okay."

They shut the doors and watched the ambulance drive their patients off to other hospitals to get them properly treated after the shooting fiasco shook all the survivors up having to face the reality that many of their co-workers were no longer with them. Callie and Arizona stood facing each other, eyes locked much like earlier after their confrontation with the shooter, with so many unspoken words flowing between them and finally not having that omnipresent tension from before. Callie was the first to break their comfortable and meaningful silence, "I'll go see if I can help the other doctors with their patients or something."

"People died." Callie instantly stopped in her tracks and turned back to face Arizona. "People are dead. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I've been treating you ever since you've been here. I thought I didn't want or need you in my life anymore, but after I could have lost you today… I don't want to have to know what it's like to not have you in my life. We can deal with everything else later. I just… I miss you and I don't want us fighting anymore."

"No, _I'm _sorry that we were even put in this predicament. I'm sorry that I just couldn't strong enough for you. And I'm sorry that I bombarded you when you tried to run away from me. I'm sorry for everything and I was so scared that I could have lost you today too. I never want to have to feel like that again. And I missed you more," Callie hardly got out before Arizona all but jumped into her arms into an emotion-filled, bone crushing hug. Everything wasn't all of a sudden magically fixed, but this was definitely a great start.

* * *

[_Present Time_]

"So I finally talked to her."

"Who?"

"Both of them actually. I told Caitlin the truth about my past with Callie and finally told Callie how I really feel about her being back here in Seattle."

"Well good for you, Blondie! How did that go?"

"Caitlin was pretty taken back from it. I could tell she was pretty upset and hurt and we almost got into an argument when I asked for a break, but she was loving and understanding, _as always_, and allowed me some time to clear my head and sort out my feelings."

"Then?"

"Then I kept my distance away from the both of them and thought about how I felt and what would be best for me. But then Callie cornered me in the hallway and I pushed her into an on-call room, but not just any on-call room, no…_our_ on-call room, and I kissed her."

"You what?"

"I kissed her. A lot. And with lots of passion and it was just out of control and I was hoping that I could get her out of my system if I just-"

"Wait a second, are you trying to tell me that you slept with Torres during your break with Catie?"

"I bet you that if Callie didn't stop me, I probably would have."

"_Arizona Robbins!_"

"Oh please, Mark. Don't start with me. I've been kicking myself enough for it. Plus, you haven't even heard the whole story yet. I chose Caitlin."

"What do you mean, you chose Catie?"

"Exactly what I said. I chose to be with Caitlin."

"Are you sure about that decision?"

"I thought I was."

"You _thought_ you were?"

"Geez, Mark. What are you, my personal parrot today? Can you just let me talk?"

"I'm sorry. I'll shut up now."

"Thank you." Arizona let out a long breath. "I chose Caitlin because she has always been there for me. She's never let me down in the entire time that I've known her. She has saved me from the bottomless pit I was falling into when Calliope left and she put me back together. She's the kindest, most caring, selfless person I've ever met in my life. She will never hurt me and I won't ever have to worry about her leaving me or breaking my heart. I can trust that she won't lie to me or go behind my back and have this entirely separate life away from me. But then Callie has to come barging in my office and start pouring her heart out to me and makes me have second thoughts about everything. She tells me how we're destined for one another and that she's here to fight for me back and that her walking away before is in the past and she's here to stay. I told her that I chose Caitlin and that was the end of it, but then she starts accusing me of taking the easy road and making the safer choice. She said that Caitlin would never hurt me, but that I would essentially be settling for less. I wouldn't feel as alive inside as I am with her. And that's when I just go off on her. I yelled and I screamed, but it felt amazing to finally get how I really felt out there. I've been burying my true feelings for her for years and it felt good to just…be honest about it all. And then she just throws me a curveball and hands me her divorce papers. Just like that, she's divorced. How did she even get it done so quickly?"

"Eh, Torres is loaded. She probably had her lawyers call upon the lawyer gods and get the thing express done or something." They both burst out laughing at Mark's silliness and it felt nice to have some light-hearted humor surround her after all the drama and angst going on with Callie and Caitlin. "So, how do you feel about that? Where do you from here?"

"I feel that even though Caitlin is an amazing girl, I have to be fair to her. I can't keep stringing her along any further in this super complicated web of Calliope and me. She deserves way more than I can give her and I think it's time that I allow her go find that someone who can be all that she needs. I think it's time to let her go."

* * *

Arizona went over to Caitlin's that night to find her looking rather distraught and exhausted. "Hey, are you alright? You look pretty run down."

"I'm fine. Just been doing a lot of thinking lately and got overwhelmed by some stuff."

"Well you should have called me and I could have came over or you are more than welcome to swing by my place any time, you know that. I'm your girlfriend, you should have talked to me."

"I know, but I wanted to handle this on my own. I didn't want to bother you when I knew you had a lot on your plate with work and stuff."

"That doesn't mean I can't still be there for you."

"Enough, Arizona. I already told you I was okay," Caitlin tried to say in the most controlled, calmed way she could muster. The truth was, she was a wreck. After her talk with Callie and basically begging for her girlfriend, she was a mess. Hearing the Latina say she was going to fight for Arizona pretty much broke her spirit. The past couple days she'd been preparing herself for when Arizona was finally going to end it. She knew that she had no chance against Callie even though Callie was the one who had hurt Arizona in the past because no matter how hard she tried, she never really had Arizona's heart when it was with someone else a thousand miles away. She would only be fooling herself if she thought Arizona would ever truly pick her when given the choice between Callie and herself. She admired Arizona for trying to do the right thing and pick Caitlin and take her away for the romantic weekend, but she could see underneath it all that she wasn't truly happy. She loved Arizona, but Callie was right. She deserved better. Someone who could give them their all. "I'm sorry, come in. Have a seat on the couch. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No thanks. I'm okay."

"Okay, so why are you here?"

"We need to talk."

_Oh boy, here it is._ "You should never start a sentence off like that, Arizona," Caitlin tried making light of the situation and cracked a semi-smile.

Sitting there in front of Caitlin, seeing her try to be happy and make the situation easier on Arizona despite how torn up she was personally almost made Arizona change her mind. She reached over and took one of Caitlin's hands into her own and looked her in the eye. "You deserve much better than me." She said softly, full of sincerity. "You are nothing but kind, smart, sweet, loving, selfless, funny, beautiful… the list goes on and on. You were there for me when I fell apart and was destroying myself. You were there to put me back together. You were there to love me again. You were always there for me and you never disappointed me. And I know that you would never hurt me either. You've been the perfect girlfriend. You _are_ the perfect girlfriend"

"But then Callie came back."

"But then Callie came back… I'm _so _sorry, Caitlin. I wish that I could just ignore all my feelings and keep them buried, like I have been for so long, but I just… I have loved Callie for as long as I can remember. I was just a girl with a dream when I met her. I dreamed of being a big, hot-shot doctor who would save the lives of millions of tiny humans. I didn't plan nor want a relationship because they would only hold me back. But then I met Callie and all my rules were broken and everything changed. I loved her then and I can't stop loving her now. But I am so sorry, Caitlin because I wish that I could just forget about my feelings for her and love you fully, completely because you have been so amazingly fantastic to me and I couldn't be any more grateful to you for that. You're incredible in so many ways and you definitely deserve so much more than I could ever give you."

"I'm an idiot."

"No, Caitlin, don't ever say that-"

"I'm an idiot for even getting involved. I knew you had just lost a great, big love and yet I threw myself out there anyways knowing that I would never be good enough. I only wanted to be there for you as a friend and stop you from ruining your life. But then I just had to fall in love with you when I knew that you would never feel the same way. I was just hoping that, maybe, some day you'd love me back so that I'd be good enough. But it was stupid of me to try, it was stupid of me to get my hopes up, and it was stupid of me to stick around when I knew it was over."

"You're not an idiot, Caitlin. You're anything but. You are one of the best things to happen to me since I've lived in Seattle. I've never met anyone with as big a heart as you do and I bet that I probably never will. I did love you, I do love you. I just can't love you enough in the way that you want me to. I can't love you enough in the way that I love Calliope. Yeah, she's broken my heart and yeah, she's left me before in the past, but I'll still always love her and I will always want her. And I can't keep lying to us both. You deserve more than that. You deserve to be handed the world on a silver platter. But I can't be that person. I can't be that someone for you because I've already been that someone for someone else for a long time now. I honestly can't say sorry enough about all of this because I wish that for more than anything, I could just forget her and be happy with you. But we both know that won't happen and we can't keep kidding ourselves any longer."

"I wish that too. I wish that I could stand up and yell at you and tell you it's all garbage. I want to believe that you belong with me and not some woman who can't even realize what she has. I want to believe that you wouldn't still be in the love with the woman who has left you in shattered pieces before and chose anything other than you, because you'd be my number one priority, always. You don't deserve that either, Arizona. You deserve to be honored and cherished and treated like a queen. And I can do that. I can be that person for you still!"

"Caitlin, please don't…"

"I mean, Callie will be gone soon, right? And once she leaves we can just keep working on-"

"Caitlin!" Arizona waited until Caitlin stopped and was looking back at her again. "No, we can't. And we both know that. I can't keep this up with you because I'll only end up hurting you more as time goes on. And I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"No, it's okay. I forgive you. We can move on from this if we just-"

"I can't let you do that."

"Why not? It's my choice!"

"I can't and I won't. I won't let you keep settling to be at most, my second best. I need to let you go so you can go find someone who will make you're their number one. You need to go out there and find someone who isn't still hung up over the one who broke their heart. You deserve so much better than I can give you."

"I wish you weren't right."

"But I am… Caitlin, we need to end this."

She let out a defeated sigh. "Yeah… I guess we do."

Arizona leaned in and wrapped her up in a hug as Caitlin started crying into her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I love you, I really do."

"I know, me too, me too." Caitlin sniffled, trying to get herself back together. "So what do now?"

"Well… I'm going to gather all my stuff together…"

"And what? We'll just see each other around?"

"Yeah, I guess we'll see each other around. I hope that maybe we could even be friends one day."

"Friends… Yeah, maybe. That sounds like something we could try after some time has passed."

Arizona smiled slightly at her. "So umm, take care of yourself, alright?"

"Don't worry about me, Arizona. I'll be fine. Just don't let Callie back so easily. Make her work for it and earn it."

"Oh, I plan to. I'll make sure she's serious and isn't going to just walk away from me again before I give her any real shot at getting back with me."

"Good," Caitlin managed a small laugh. "She needs to see how great she has it and it's about time she learns that."

"Ha, isn't it me who is supposed to be trying cheer you up?"

"I told I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Just worry about you."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"So is this when I'm supposed to say goodbye now and leave?"

"I don't believe in goodbyes. This is an 'I'll see you later.' So, I'll see you later, Arizona."

Her heart melted at how sweet and loveable Caitlin still was even though she had just broken this girl's heart. "I'll see you later, Caitlin.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

A knocking on his door brought the Chief out of his work and he wondered who his unexpected visitor could be. "Come in!"

"Chief, I really need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, what can I help you with, Torres? How's your dad doing?"

"He's great. Derek's really happy with his progress. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I-I-I, umm…"

"Well spit it out, Torres!"

"I was wondering if you could use a world class orthopedic surgeon on your staff and if I can get my job back…sir."

Richard Webber couldn't help but smile at the nervous doctor standing in front of him. "No." Her dejected face amused him and he waited a few seconds longer, watching her squirm before letting her off the hook. "I'll do you one better. How about I give you an entire department?"

"Seriously, sir?"

"Seriously. That pause earlier? That was just a little revenge for leaving me in the first place." He winked at her.

"Not fair, sir, not fair!" Callie joked with him.

"So what do you say, Torres? You up for it? An entire orthopedic department under your wing?"

"Definitely, Chief, definitely. I've been waiting for this ever since I started med school."

"Well, it's good to have you back, Dr. Torres. You have been thoroughly missed."

"It's good to be back, sir. And I won't let you down this time."

"You better not, Torres! Don't make me regret this decision."

"I won't, sir! I promise!"

**Say what? Rox knows how to write something semi-happy? And it isn't some ungodly hour in the middle of the night/morning? Yeah, I'll take 2:15ish over 6am ANYDAY. **

**Anyways, I'm sorry that in the Flashback, I basically stole that shooting finale of Season 6, but it just worked so well to get our girls talking again after that disastrous stairwell, scene, right? **

**I seriously, honestly, really couldn't thank you all enough for all the comments from the last chapter. I love hearing that you guys are hooked to this story even though it can get pretty depressing and heartbreaking at times and that you love my writing. It blows me away to know that you all love it so much and it makes my day and makes me smile my own super magic smile. **

**If you have an account, you should sign in so I can thank you properly! And y'all shouldn't be afraid to message me back when I write you. I love getting to you know you guys even if you think I probably don't. I'm not a scary person at all. Check out my page, I posted a bunch of facts about me so you can see that I'm just a really chill, laid back person. So first, leave me a comment, so then I can write back to you and then write me back, because I really do care about who you are.**

**So anyways, like I said before, when you leave a review and tell me what you think, I smile my own super magic smile. So let's try to make Rox smile many super magic smiles, shall we? =]**

**P.S. Did I miss some memo where authors are now giving shout outs to other authors' stories? If so, well I guess I'll give a shout out to donteatblue's stories because I'm seriously hooked on the drama and angst of both of their stories, so if you don't mind a little angst and heartache, check them out.**

**P.P.S. The next chapter is Callie working towards getting Arizona's trust back. What should we have her do to prove herself worthy to one Ms. Robbins?**

**P.P.P.S. Some of you have asked me about future projects and this is what I have to say on the manner. I have a couple storylines thought up in my head for something I would be interested in writing after I'm done with my baby (this story). But I guess I can leave it up to you. Would you like me to start on those and give you a preview of them? Or?... My readers get the final call since I DO write these stories for you guys more than for just myself. ;D**


	15. Chapter 15

It's You, It'll Always Be You

Chapter 15

[_Flashback_]

"Hey Torres! Are you down for lunch later?" Arizona called out as she was heading off to her first surgery of the day.

"You know it! I'll be there," Callie answered, a big smile on her face.

Mark came walking up in time to hear the exchange between the two and saw the beaming smile on the face of the woman who quickly became his best friend. "So I take it you finally talked to Blondie about how you really feel?"

"Huh? No…"

"Oh come on, Torres. I totally saw that!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Mark."

"You're joking, right?" Callie shook her head. "You mean to tell me that you and Blondie are just miraculously okay again?"

"Well I wouldn't say _miraculous_, but Arizona and I are trying to be friends."

"_Friends_? What happened to telling her how you felt?"

"It's not that simple. It's a complicated situation right now."

"You're becoming a broken record with the never-ending _it's complicated_ excuse you constantly give me."

"I know and I'm sorry about that. But ever since she found out about George, nothing between us has been simple. After the shooting, we just realized that all our fighting is ridiculous because we could have lost each other and it's just not worth it. So we're trying again and we're going to try to be friends. It's all she can give me right now."

"You've gone soft, Torres."

"No. I. Have. Not! I'm just… I'm giving her the space and the power to decide where we go from here."

"Like I said, soft."

"Oh shut up, Mark. You wouldn't know how I feel because you don't know what it's like to be love."

"And how is this you proving your love for Blondie?"

"When you are truly, deeply, completely 100% in love with someone, you give them your all and surrender yourself to them, trusting that they won't break your heart or hurt you when you make yourself open and vulnerable without all your protective walls."

Mark was quiet for a moment, letting what Callie said simmer for a few seconds. "Nope, I still think you've just gone soft." Callie couldn't do anything but shake her head and look away with a slight smile on her face as Mark went off to probably coax some nurse into a mid-morning rendezvous in an on-call room.

* * *

Lunch had gone pretty well. The two ate their food and talked about their days with a happy pink bubble encasing them both. Their interaction brought smiles to the others in the cafeteria to see them laughing and smiling together instead of sulking and pouting in the absence of the other. Callie suggested that they hang out that afternoon since both their shifts ended rather early that day. Arizona thought it was a good idea and when Callie asked if she had anything she wanted to do, Arizona merely smiled and told her she had the "perfect" thing.

So now Callie was waiting anxiously in her apartment wearing the athletic clothing Arizona told her wear. _What is she up to? She better not be taking me out for a run. Or a hike through the forest. Especially not in the woods!_ Callie then had a moment of panic thinking she was going on a hike in the woods before she was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. She nervously answered the door to a dimpled-smiling Arizona. "So…what are we doing? You wouldn't tell me earlier, but we're not going on a hike, are we? Because I don't do woods. The woods are dirty and there are many, many bugs."

Arizona couldn't help but chuckle at Callie's nervous ramblings. "Relax, Callie. Just trust me on this, okay? We'll have a super time together and get a good workout in while we're at it too! Now come on, let's go before we lose all the daylight!"

_Was that a wink? Oh my god, is she trying to torture me here? And that smile… I might have a heart attack by the end of this afternoon at this rate. _"Okay, I trust you. This better be great, Robbins, or else I'll never hang out with you again!"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Not only will today be awesome, I'll totally blow your mind!"

"Awesome? What are you, five?" Callie teased, automatically being brought back to that first day they met when she said those exact words.

Arizona seemed to have remembered that moment as well and broke out into a huge grin. "No, but the patients in my future department will be!"

* * *

After the short walk to their mystery destination with Arizona leading the way, they found themselves standing at the basketball courts of a nearby park. "You brought me to a park? Seriously, Arizona? This is your idea of an amazing afternoon?"

"Will you stop with the complaining and the skepticism? Just give it a try, alright?"

Callie puffed up her cheeks and let out a stream of air up towards her forehead to blow at her bangs, which amused Arizona to no extent since Callie's behavior was very much like her tiny human patients. "Fine. I'll be quiet now. So why are we playing basketball at the park when there are so many other things to do in Seattle on such a beautiful afternoon?"

"When I first moved here to Seattle, I didn't know much about the city. I was just an unattached intern trying to make a new connection in my new life. So in what little free time I did have where I wasn't trolling for surgeries or studying up on a procedure, I found a hobby."

"Let me guess, that hobby was basketball?"

"Not quite. I was just roaming around downtown one day to explore the city and I ended up at Key Arena. It was summertime and in the midst of the WNBA season and it seemed like they had a pretty big fanbase so I bought a game ticket to see what the hype was about and fell in love with both the team and the game. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did after that first game, but I became a hardcore fan. Whenever I had a day off, I'd go get a ticket for a game and have a blast there. It helped me not only build that connection I was looking for, but it was a great way to get away from the stress of surgery and internship and hospital drama and just have a fun time for those two or three hours."

"Wow, well I never would have dubbed you for a basketball fan."

"I wouldn't have either. But being in Key Arena and sitting there with the other fans, it was definitely something unlike I've ever experienced before. They won a championship that year and it only inspired me to love the game that much more. So since then I've slowly been getting into actually playing basketball. I wouldn't say I'm an amazing player or anything, but I'm definitely better than your average joe from the streets. It's a fun game and it definitely keeps you in shape too." Callie couldn't help but smile at seeing the goofy grin and almost dreamy-eyed look on the blonde's face. "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

"Yeah, passion and love."

"Oh, you're so cheesy!"

"No, _you're_ the cheesy one! But it's cute. Beyond adorable to see you so passionate about something other than medicine. It'd be nice if everyone could find something else besides surgery that they were so passionate about. It'd help keep all of us doctors on a level ground and won't allow that God-complex get to our heads."

"Exactly. When I'm at a Storm game, I'm not 'Arizona Robbins, on-the-rise PEDs surgeon.' I'm just another fan in the crowd and I can just relax and let the stress of my day or week melt away."

They hadn't talked with such ease in years and Callie couldn't help but feel as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest from happiness. "Okay, you dorky little cheese ball, let's go see if you have any skill to back up all your talk."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later found the two engaged in an aggressive game of one-on-one. Arizona wasn't kidding when she said she had better game than the average joe and was giving Callie a run for her money, but Callie's height advantage proved to be a roadblock for the blonde. Despite Callie's lack of experience, she was able to keep pace with Arizona by contesting most of her shots and defending her really closely. Having Arizona's hot, sweaty body pressed up against her was killing Callie inside and it got even worse as the game progressed. "Hmm, you never told me you were so good at basketball, Callie."

"I have a lot of hidden talents," Callie responded getting ready to play defense as Arizona turned her dribble away and backed into Callie. "_Especially_ with my hands," she whispered into the blonde's ear once she was close enough.

Arizona let out a gasp and felt a rush of heat flood her entire body, causing her to lose focus for a moment and provide a window of opportunity for Callie to steal the ball. "Hey! Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater!"

"Aww, are you going to go crying home to your mommy now? This is street ball, Arizona. It gets a little rough sometimes," Callie teased.

"Oh yeah, huh? Okay, game on!"

The game turned in a different direction after that and got a bit more…physical. It was more subtle the first few plays with a bit closer defense and more verbal teasing, but it quickly heated up from there. What used to be tight defense turned into full body gropes and verbal teasing into sexual innuendos. Needless to say, both were very hot and bothered, but definitely _not_ from the basketball.

"Ooh, getting pretty handsy there, Robbins. I'm pretty sure in basketball you're supposed to be going after the ball, not grabbing my ass."

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Arizona countered, sliding her hand from where it was rested on Callie's hip and up her side, her fingers dancing dangerously close to the swell of Callie's breast. Arizona heard Callie's sharp intake of breath and smirked realizing she was now in control of this possession. "Well…" she basically purred into Callie's ear. "It's not like you're complaining. In fact, I think you may be enjoying my hands rubbing all across your _hot, sweaty_ body. A little _too _ much, if you ask me. Besides, it's not like I'd do it so much if I didn't know it made you weak in the knees."

Arizona's voice becoming all husky like that was driving Callie wild. She could no longer concentrate on playing the game since the only thing on her mind now were her raging hormones. Arizona was toying with her and she knew it, but yet she couldn't find a way to not let the blonde affect her. She wasn't sure she wanted to block out those feelings. Now it was Callie this time who was distracted long enough to get the ball stolen from her and Arizona who pulled away with a mischievous grin on her face. "So you like to play dirty? Well, two can play that game. But how about we make this more interesting, what do you say?" Callie asked, cocking her eyebrow and shooting Arizona her sexiest smoldering look.

"More interesting how exactly?"

"Next basket wins and the loser has to take the winner out to do whatever she wants whenever we both have the day off again, no complaining either!"

"Yeah, Callie. Remember your words when you have to do whatever I want, _again, _next time."

"Ha, a little cocky, aren't we?"

"Not cocky, confident." Arizona corrected, scooting closer to Callie until they were standing face to face. "And I know that you find my confidence hot."

"I-I…Umm…I-"

"Check." Arizona said, passing Callie the ball with a wide grin on her face.

"Mate." Callie responded, collecting herself and passing it back before crouching down into her defensive position.

Both had difficulties scoring that final basket as their flirtatious touches got increasingly more risqué. It became nearly impossible to focus long enough to put the ball through the hoop when heated hands were grabbing at places that were mere inches away from where they were wanted, where they were _needed_ . By this point, they had been playing for more than an hour and they were both beyond exhausted. This game needed to end, and it needed to end soon if either had any intentions of being able to move the next day. _This is it, _Callie thought. _It's now or never_. She put her head down and charged through the lane towards the basket, leaping up and releasing the ball, watching it float in through the hoop hearing that sweet sound of the _swish, _indicating her victory before crashing into the body trying to block her and went tumbling to the ground.

"Hmm, looks like I won and you have to do _whatever…I…want…_" Callie's last three words each slowly annunciated as she pressed her body fully flush against Arizona and inched her way lower...lower…_lower_, until her chest was level with Arizona's hips. She kept eye contact with the blonde her entire journey down her body and smirked when she saw Arizona close her eyes and lift her hips in search of some friction. Both her body and hormones were screaming for Callie after that heated game and she could feel her resolve slipping away with each second that passed feeling Callie on top of her. She nearly let out a groan of frustration when she felt Callie get up and hover above her with a sly smile on her face. "You're so easy, Robbins," Callie chuckled at the blonde's reactions. "Now let's get out of here. No offense, but I'm getting pretty sick of all the basketball."

"I'm not easy! You just play dirty."

Callie scoffed, "I'm a badass, 'dirty' is my middle name."

"Ha, that's a new one. I didn't know 'dirty' was codeword for Iphigenia."

"Why I outta!" Arizona quickly jumped to her feet after seeing the shocked expression on Callie's face and knew she was about to get in trouble for uttering her middle name. She took off out of the basketball courts and ran into what seemed like a random direction into the trees with Callie hot on her trail. After a short chase, the brush and trees led out to a clearing where there was a single park bench atop a hill that overlooked the rest of the city skyline. "Wow…" was all she could manage to say at the sight.

"I found it a couple years ago. It's a really nice place to just sit and think. Plus it's pretty quiet and not a lot of people know about it, so you don't get bothered all that often. I like coming here when I have those moments of just wanting the world to stop for a few minutes so I can take a deep breath and get myself together, you know what I mean?" Arizona asked as she took a seat on the park bench.

"Absolutely, it's incredible. Just…beautiful," Callie answered while looking at Arizona, partly talking about the view, mostly talking about the woman sitting in front of her.

They sat there for a while, switching between exchanging a little small talk and just enjoying the comfortable silence. They didn't realize it, but after starting out with a substantial amount of space between them, they were now sitting almost shoulder to shoulder. Callie was nervous because she didn't know how Arizona would react, but she tentatively lifted her arm up and around so it was lying on the park bench behind Arizona's back. After receiving no protests and only a slight flinch from surprise before relaxing again as a response, Callie closed the gap between the two and cupped her hand around Arizona's shoulders, bringing her closer to her. She placed a gentle kiss on Arizona's temple before looking out over the city where the sun was beginning to set over Puget Sound. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"Life sure would be a lot easier if it worked out that way."

"Arizona, I just wanted to say-"

"If you're going to apologize to me one more time or start professing your love, I don't want to hear it."

"But I really do-"

"I mean it. Today has just been so perfect and I don't want to ruin it by bringing up feelings and saying more apologies."

"Okay," Callie relented and just kept quiet as they watched the rest of sunset and the transformation of the city into a million sparkling lights before them. "Everything is so peaceful up here, I like it. I like just being able to be with you and not have the urge to say something every single second. It's…comforting." Callie said warmly as she started tracing patterns on Arizona's arm, causing a shiver to run through her body. "Oh, are you cold? We can head back now if you want. I mean, it's getting kinda late and I don't want to keep you out on my accord and-"

"No, I'm not cold. I just… Even though I said that we could be just friends again, that doesn't mean that it's easy to stick with it. Even though we're supposed to be friends and _just_ friends, my body can't help but react to yours whenever you're near me. My body can't resist your touch and my heart can't stop racing whenever you hold me close. So…I just…I-I mean, yeah…it still affects me."

"Well we don't _have_ to be _just_ friends, you know," Callie answered in a whisper as she buried her face against Arizona's neck.

"Yes we do. Because to be honest with you, I'm not ready to give you more than that right now even if my body decides to betray me whenever you're around. Plus, I won't be that girl who gets in between you and your morals. You're still engaged, Calliope, regardless of whether or not you choose to acknowledge it. You're promised to someone else and I don't have to right to mess with that. I'm not the kind of girl who allows others to break promises like that." Arizona pulled back a little to see Callie smiling at her and was confused as to what she saw smile-worthy in that mini-speech. "Uhh, did you not just hear anything I said? What could you possibly be smiling about?"

"You called me _Calliope_…"

"Yeah, so? It's your name. I call you that all the time. You gave me permission to! What, are you revoking my privileges now that-"

"You haven't called me Calliope in a long time. I missed hearing you say it," Callie's smile was so genuine that Arizona's heart melted and any seriousness she was feeling earlier about clearing up their situation, quickly disappeared as they once again returned to their comfortable silence.

* * *

Time was quickly passing by and soon enough, the temperature dropped to a normal Seattle night and the athletic clothing they wore for the basketball game wasn't enough to keep them warm. Arizona was reluctant to go, wanting to stay there in Callie's arms, overlooking downtown and imprint that memory onto her mind forever. For those few hours, there was no stress, no worries about residency, no one's lives were in their hands, no maniac shooters roaming around, no George, no promises, no commitments…just the two of them, being together exactly the way they should be.

Arizona walked Callie back to her apartment complex and was an absolute cliché of the nervous person after a first date. "So, I had a lot of fun today…"

Callie couldn't help but laugh at Arizona's nervous tactics. "That the best you could come up with? So is this where I'm supposed to invite you up for coffee and then we end up on my couch making out until god knows when?"

_Straddling a naked Callie as she's ravishing you and ripping off your clothing and kissing you here as her fingers go there… _"Umm, uhh, I d-don't think-"

"Relax, Arizona. That was a joke…Ha, ha?"

"Right, sorry. I was just umm… Thinking about…work! And how I have so much to do tomorrow. Yeah, so, I really did have a lot of fun today."

"I did too. Who knew playing basketball could be so fun?"

"It's cause you were hanging out with me!" Arizona cheered, her confidence returning once they went back to their playful banter.

"But of course! You're right, I did have a blast _and_ you did totally blow my mind."

_Oh how I wish I could blow your mind in a different way… _"Told you! So I guess this is goodnight?"

"I suppose it is. Goodnight, Arizona."

"Goodnight, Calliope. I'll see you tomorrow," Arizona flashed Callie a super magic smile as the Latina started up the stairs to the door of her apartment complex. "Oh, wait, Calliope!" Arizona called out before the door shut completely.

"Yes?" Callie asked, poking her head out the door.

"Did you decide what you wanted to do for our next day off together?"

"Hmm, thanks for reminding me. I did actually."

"And would you care to share with the rest of the class?" Arizona teased after Callie remained silent for a few moments.

"Right, sorry. Girl's Night Out."

"What?"

"Girl's Night Out! Dress up and look hot. I want to go out for a night on the town and hit the clubs and go dancing."

_Oh dear god. Calliope, dressed up+drinks+dancing=Dunzo Arizona. _"That sounds like a ton of fun. I can't wait to go!"

"Trust me, now it'll be _my_ turn to blow _your_ mind. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow!"

_Baby, you won't have to try very hard._ "Right, see ya!"

* * *

[_Present Time_]

Callie was excited to get back to work. After accepting Head of the Orthopedics department, Callie remembered she still had to hand in her resignation for the hospital she was working at in San Francisco. She decided to spend the grace period she had before starting her new job with her father as he recovered and coaxing Cristina, her roommate back when Callie was an intern, to let her crash at her place for a few days as she searched for her own place to stay. Everything was happening at a whirlwind speed and it was quickly overwhelming Callie. _How could everything be happening so fast? One minute, Papa supposedly only has a benign tumor, the next, we're flying out to Seattle to have him undergo dangerous brain surgery. One minute, I'm still married to George, the next, I'm divorced and telling Arizona the ball is in her court. One minute I'm still on personal leave from UCSF _[University of California, San Francisco]_ Med and the next I'm accepting a position of Head of the Department at SGMW. Wow, I could really use a change of pace right about now._

Callie was sitting in her and Arizona's on-call room propped up on a bed with the newspaper in hand looking at ads for apartments. After calling and inquiring about some, the door burst open and in came an exhausted looking Arizona. "Hey, are you okay?" Callie called out, letting her presence known.

"Oh god, I can't do this right now," Arizona muttered under her breath.

"Come on, don't be like that. It's only me. What's up?"

"I really can't do this right now, Callie."

Callie pouted at Arizona going back to using her nickname, though she had done so before when they finally admitted their feelings to each other the other week. Though nothing significant had happened to change their current status, Callie still missed hearing Arizona say her full name. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

"It helps me keep some sort of distance from you."

"Okay…distant enough to not talk to me about what's bothering you?"

"I'm afraid that if I tell you, you'll get the wrong idea."

"Come on, just talk to me, Arizona. Can you at least throw me a bone, let me try to be there for you?"

"Fine," Arizona let out a sigh as she plopped down on the tiny bed next to Callie. "I broke up with Caitlin the other day." Arizona felt Callie's body immediately perk up at the mention of breaking up with Caitlin, but she was quick to continue before Callie had a chance to react completely. "Don't get too excited though. I didn't break up with her so I could just go jump back into your arms. I did this for _her_ and _me_. I couldn't keep stringing her along and hurting her more in the process. I love her too much to do that. And I most definitely respect her too much to do that. That woman has done nothing but be there for and love me. She deserves the best, she deserves more than I can give her. So no, I didn't break up with her for you, so don't get so excited over it. I pretty much broke her heart…"

Callie sat quietly for a few minutes, allowing Arizona to lean her head on her shoulder and cry out of frustration, exhaustion, guilt, and all the other feelings she'd been keeping inside. "I'm sorry, Arizona. I'm sorry that you're hurting so much over this. I'm sorry that you had to break someone else's heart, but try to think that it'll be better in the long run for the both of you. You said it yourself, she deserves more than what you can give her. At least you're giving her the chance to find someone who _can_ give her what she deserves. Caitlin's a great girl and I'm sure they'll be people lining up for her in no time."

"Thanks, Callie. I've been trying to convince myself that I was doing the right thing, but the guilt just kept eating me up inside. I guess it helps that someone else can see it that way too, even if you are just a tad biased in the matter." Arizona teased.

"I know that there is a little conflict of interest here, but I do think you did the right thing. It may not feel like it right now, but that feeling won't last forever and you'll both be happier for it."

Arizona nodded against Callie's shoulder before getting up and shifting to the other end of the bed so that they could sit facing each other. Callie looked over at her puzzled as Arizona proceeded to fold her hands into her lap and continue looking over at her. "It's easier to have a conversation while we're facing each other. Plus, I find it very difficult for me not to just jump right back into your arms when I'm practically lying in them in our on-call room."

"Point taken. Actually, I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Is it Carlos? What happened? Is he alright?"

"It's nothing bad, at least, I don't think it is. And no, my dad's fine. He's doing great, just annoyed that he still has to stay in the hospital, so he's just giving everyone a hard time about it."

"Now I see where your hard headedness comes from."

"Hey now, there's no need to start using those fighting words. Especially when that person was just there for you when you needed to let out your thoughts."

"Fine, I take it back…for now."

"So anyways, back to what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm coming back to Seattle. Richard offered me a job here the other day and I accepted. I handed in my letter at UCSF and I'm just waiting until that time is up and I'll be back here to run the ortho department." After seeing Arizona's shocked expression, Callie paused for a moment. "Please tell me you're okay with this. I didn't want to just bombard you again, but I just felt like it was something I had to do, you know? I wasn't happy in San Francisco and I haven't been happier anywhere else except for with you and plus my dad's here for the meantime until it's safe for him to fly back to Miami and I just-"

"You're rambling again."

"I'm sorry. But yeah, I got offered the department and I couldn't really turn that down. I never realized how much I missed Seattle. The nurses are still as nosy as ever, but the atmosphere around here is still so much better than back at UCSF. I've always felt like I fit in better here. And it's helped that I've gotten to know a few people here from hanging around so often with my dad here and everything. Please tell me what you're thinking because I don't want you to be upset about this."

Arizona took some time to pick her words for her answer. "I'm not upset, just a little surprised. I'm glad you're coming back. I missed you and I know Mark missed you too. Even though we got closer over the years, I know he still misses his badass best friend. I'm okay with this though, okay? Just give me some time to adjust because a lot has changed and I've had a lot of things thrown at me too."

"I know, and I'm sorry for any troubles I've caused you."

"Don't apologize to me any longer. We'll be okay. But like I said, I need some time. And you definitely can't expect me to just fall back into your arms. You've hurt me before, Callie. I'm still scared that you'll hurt me again, so you'll have to show me that you're serious this time. You'll have to earn my trust back because I can't just hand it to you. But I promise I won't lead you on. I won't make you waste your time if I'm not serious about us too. I love you, I never stopped, but you get why I have to be cautious, right?"

"I told you before, all I want is another chance. I want another chance to make it up to you. And I promise that you won't have to worry about whatever happened in our past happening again because I'm here to stay and I will fight for you, and for our future. I won't let you down this time, Arizona, I promise."

* * *

Callie was in a good mood after that talk with Arizona. Arizona had given her hope. She was a little worried at breaking the news about her returning to work there, but things were good again after getting over that speedbump. They were taking things slow, getting to know each other all over again essentially. They had breakfast and lunch together at the hospital whenever Arizona had a free moment and most of the blonde's breaks were spent with Callie talking in some random place in the hospital. Most of the time, it was in their on-call room where they spent a lot of time getting to know each other again back when they were trying to maintain a friendship after the Gary Clark shooting.

Today only added to Callie's happiness though. Today was Callie's first day back as the new Head of Orthopedics and she was so glad to get back to work. Surgery and breaking bones was always a great way to put her in a good mood. She hadn't been practicing medicine for a while though since she'd spent a lot of time with her father, so she was hoping for a relatively slow day to ease into being back.

She was paged into the Chief's office after she finished the mountainous piles of paperwork and was headed that way now. "Hey, Chief, you paged?"

"Ah, Dr. Torres. I'd like to welcome you back officially."

"Well thank you sir. I just got done with all that mandatory paperwork stuff, so I'll just be on my way to cruise around and see how the ortho program was being run before so I can make some notes for changes I'll want to make."

"Actually, that's what I called you in for. I know that it's your first day and I know that you were hoping for a slow day with a lot of administrative stuff, but I have a special task for you today. As you may or may not know, the Seattle Storm basketball team means a lot to the huge fan community here. They're the only team who can seem to bring back any championships back home to Seattle!" He joked before clearing his throat to return back to business. "As such, the Storm are extremely precious to the city of Seattle and so I need my best ortho doctor to look at a VIP patient. She's on her way now and will be here shortly. I'm sorry to drop this on you so suddenly, Torres, but do you got this?"

"Absolutely, Chief. Where do I go meet her?"

"Her friend is bringing her in. I'll go down with you and escort her up to one of the VIP rooms right away. Now, we don't know if there's anything serious or worth freaking out about, so she's here for an examination and second opinion really. All that practice and training can take a toll on you. Anyways, let's go get our VIP patient."

Once they were settled in the private room, they started the standard protocol with the Chief presenting her case. "Lauren Jackson, 31 year old female complaining of knee and back pain. Her friend Sue is here with her and I already cleared it, so she can be here. Lauren, this is Dr. Callie Torres. She's the best orthopedic surgeon I've seen in a long time and she'll take great care of you. Dr. Torres, she's all yours."

Once Richard left, the fear finally seemed to register in Lauren's brain. "What a second, he said you're an orthopedic surgeon? So you guys think I'll need surgery?"

"No, we're not saying that at all. Let me take a look and we'll see what's up with your knee and back, alright?"

After her initial examination, Callie sent Lauren up to get an x-ray just to double check that everything would be okay. "Is is going to be alright?" Sue tentatively asked after staying relatively quiet the whole time she was there.

"She should be. I'm just running some basic tests to make sure before I give her the go. So far, it seems that all she needs to do is take it easy the next couple days and ice her knee. It's taken a lot of stress from all the practices and games as I can only imagine what playing professional basketball is like."

"It's a dream come true if you have a real passion for the game. Not only do we get to make a living and have a career doing the thing we love, but we can also give back and inspire little girls all around the world to pick up a basketball and play. I never really had that growing up, so it's definitely a blessing to be able to give that to the kids of today."

Callie smiled at hearing Sue talk about how much she loved the game and it brought her back to when Arizona was talking about her new love for the sport. "You sound just like my friend when she was talking to me about basketball a few years back."

"Yeah? Does she play?"

"Nah, she's a doctor here too. Pediatric surgery. Huge fan of the team by the way. She was talking about loving going to the game and being in the crowd and watching you guys win a championship."

"Hmm…She's been a fan for a while then since we've had a couple dry spells in the post-season since that win. A lot of it has to do with Lauren getting hurt at the end of the season so we didn't have her in the playoffs and that ended up hurting us. That's why Coach is taking extra precautions by making Lauren come in today; we can't afford to lose her at this point in the season now. I think this could be the year for us though. We've been on a roll this season and I think this may be our year to grab that championship one more time. Our team is more mature, we have great chemistry, and we have the experience to know how to handle press situations since every team is gunning for us right now."

"Wow, I never knew. Maybe I should go to a game or two this season. My friend absolutely loves the team, so she'd probably want to go with me sometime."

"You definitely should. I'd love to meet such a loyal, long time fan."

"What is this I hear about long time fan? You holding out on me, Doc?"

"Ha, no Lauren, but I have a friend who absolutely loves the Storm. She'd probably freak out if she knew I met you two today. Actually, I bet she wouldn't believe me."

"Dr. Torres, here are Ms. Jackson's scans."

Callie grabbed the scans and took a minute to look over them before turning back to Sue and Lauren. "Well, everything seems to fine. You just irritated the muscles and tendons in your back and knee from all the stress you've put on it from the games and practices, but just ice it and take it easy for the next few days and you'll be good as new."

"Whew, good to know. Thanks Dr. Torres."

"Yeah, thanks, Doc. It's definitely a relief to know that I can keep playing."

"You're very welcome. Just remember to stay off of it, okay?"

"Hey, why don't you and your friend come down for our next home game? We can get you some premium seats as a thank you from the team for taking such good care of our star player over here."

"Oh hush, Sue. I'm just a part of the team."

"She's being modest, Dr. Torres. She's a two-time MVP winner and the frontrunner for it again this year."

"Wow, impressive, Lauren. No wonder you're going crazy and overworking your muscles. Got to stay in shape to be at the top."

"You know it, Doc. But yeah, Sue's right. You should bring your friend and we'll get you some VIP tickets for treating us like your VIPs here."

"She'll absolutely love it. Thank you two so much. And good luck with whatever you've got up next. See you soon!"

* * *

"You WHAT?" Arizona exclaimed after Callie told her of her VIP case.

"The Chief told me to look after Lauren Jackson from the Seattle Storm, so I did. Her friend, Sue, was there with her to make sure she was alright. What a nice girl. The both of them really."

"Sue BIRD! You met Sue Bird _and_ Lauren Jackson? Do you even realize how amazing that is?"

"Umm, no… But I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyways?"

"Callie…those two are like…the stars of the team. Sue Bird is considered one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game and Lauren Jackson is always thrown up there as being the greatest player of the game. Man, I am so jealous of you right now! You met them and didn't even know who you were talking to!"

"Jeez, calm down, Arizona. They're just two people like you and me. I really liked talking to them. Actually, they invited me to come see their next home game and that they'd hook me up with a couple VIP tickets so that you and I could go."

"Could this get any better? Ohmygosh, we have to go, Callie! We have to go!"

"Haha, alright. I'll call them up tonight and let them know I'll be there so they can hold our tickets."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm so excited! This is going to be the greatest thing ever!"

* * *

The next home game was on a Saturday night and Seattle was playing one of their rivals in the Phoenix Mercury. True to their words, Sue and Lauren hooked Callie and Arizona up with VIP tickets to the game, giving them the best seats in the house. Callie failed to mention though, that she wanted to surprise Arizona by letting her know after the game that they were invited to join the team in the post-game dinner so that Arizona could meet the rest of the team. Callie was surprised at the generosity of the two players since she had barely treated Lauren for anything, but it must have been the instant connection she had with the two that kept getting them all these perks.

The game was close, as it always was with those two teams, with Phoenix's star player always keeping her team within striking distance, never letting Seattle completely pull away. Callie enjoyed watching Arizona's various facial expressions and reactions to the happenings in the game much more than the game itself, but she did manage to pay attention to her two newest friends going to work out there on the floor. In the end, Seattle won, which boosted the blonde to a whole new level of happiness and excitement.

She was even more overjoyed with excitement when she heard about the post-game dinner celebration and just about fainted when she finally met the players of her favorite team. She seemed to get over the obsessed fangirl moments when they were all together and both Callie and Arizona seemed to fit well into the team's dynamic.

After a fun dinner with the team filled with lots of laughter and riled up speeches about the rest of the season, Callie and Arizona had to call it a night and headed back to drop Arizona off at home. "Wow… I can even begin to thank you enough for this day. This was just…beyond amazing. It was one of my dreams come true. I've been a fan of this team for a _long_ time now and I can't believe you got me tickets to see them, and then meet them during dinner afterwards! This is all just so surreal, you know? I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure this night was all real."

"It was definitely real, Arizona. I'm so glad that you had a great time."

"Are you kidding me? One of the best days of my life, Calliope! And I seriously couldn't think of anyone else I'd want to spend it with. I can't believe you remembered… Thank you so much…"

Tears started forming in Arizona's eyes as she was overwhelmed with emotion from this day. "You're forever welcome, Arizona. It was the least I could do. I'm just glad that I hit it off with Sue and Lauren so quickly. And you called me Calliope." Callie beamed a smile at Arizona.

"How could they not have loved you from the first second? Of course you guys hit it off. But seriously, thank you for tonight. You were amazing in every single way and are definitely getting some major points for it."

"I know it won't happen all at once, but tonight was just a preview of how I intend to treat you right, Arizona. Like I should have in the first place. You deserve the world too and I want to make _all_ your dreams come true."

"You're awesome, Calliope."

"And you're incredible, Arizona."

"Is this where you kiss me goodnight now and watch me as I make my way in?"

Callie let out a short laugh at how cheesy Arizona was. "Yes, Arizona. This is where I'm going to kiss you goodnight now," she answered as she leaned in and pressed her lips against Arizona's in a slow, soft kiss, making sure to pour in all the feelings her heart contained in that one simple kiss. The one kiss that would spark the beginning of Callie Torres winning back Arizona trust, and ultimately, her love.

**Ha, there was my attempt at a happy, flirty, fluffy chapter. How did I do? I know it was definitely a change from all the heartache and drama I put you guys through, but I figured it was time I gave you an inch and wrote something happier for a change.**

**Yes, I'm a huge basketball dork and made Arizona love basketball for the purpose of this cutesy chapter. Hope you didn't hate it too much!**

**As always, a huge thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. You seem to be happy Caitlin is "out of the way", but agree that she needs a happy ending as well. Let me see how well I can do that for you. =]**

**If you play Fruit Ninja on your iPod, add me! Oh my gosh, I am like addicted to playing that game and I think it'd be awesome to play against my readers and have you guys kick my butt! Let me know if you want my screen name so we can play! =D**

**Ooh, and if you're a JCap fan, which how could you not be, right? But anyways, if you are, have you seen the new pics of her and her family from this week? Ohmygoodness I was dying from the cuteness! If you haven't seen them, go check them out. They're all over tumblr and you won't be able to stop yourself from smiling from all the cute adorableness. **

**Okay, a lot of my dork is showing here in this AN after I already wrote a super dorky chapter, so I'll go shut up now…**

**Hello if you're a new reader! Let me know if you are so I can officially welcome you aboard!**

**Oh, and don't worry, Callie isn't done being sweet and romantic and trying to win back Arizona quite yet. More happiness and fluff you say, it's a huge possibilities my friends. That is, if you want it.**

**Love Always,**

**Rox**

**P.S. Absolutely no harm intended at all in borrowing the Seattle Storm, KeyArena, Sue Bird, and Lauren Jackson. I'm just such a huge fan! I'd definitely be like Arizona and be the squealing fangirl who would pass out upon meeting them. =P**


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